The Big Con (37 page)

Closely related to the phenomenon of argot-formation—in fact, one aspect of it—is the use of
monickers
, many of which have already been used in referring to individual confidence men. Relatively few criminals are known in the underworld by their real names; in many cases their closest friends know little of their family connections. Often professionals abandon their original family names and assume others. All of them work under
numerous aliases and many have no criminal records under the names by which they are commonly known in the underworld. These underworld nicknames (known as monickers) usually stick to a professional criminal throughout life; they are genuine and cannot be shaken off like a mere name. However, not all con men bear monickers; those who do often carry them over from some other criminal occupation which they followed before becoming con men.

The monicker, like the names used by primitive peoples, is vastly connotative and becomes even more suggestive when one knows the circumstances which lead to its acquisition. Sometimes it reflects some striking physical characteristic of the bearer, as, for instance, the Bow Legged Lip who had the misfortune to be both bow-legged and hare-lipped, the High Ass Kid, who was quite long-legged, the Square Faced Kid, Nigger Mike of swarthy complexion, and Crooked Arm S—– whose crippled arm resulted from jumping through a window in his early thieving days. The Narrow Gage Kid’s height was just the distance between the rails of a narrow-gage railway.

Some monickers commemorate a personal exploit or recall some personal idiosyncrasy or former occupation. The Yenshee Kid chewed yenshee (gum opium); the Postal Kid was once a messenger boy; the Brass Kid peddled cheap jewelry; the Yellow Kid sold cheap watches with a story that they were stolen property; Brickyard Jimmy was once assigned to work in a prison brickyard during a brief reprieve from grifting.

Other monickers only designate the home town of a con man or the city in which he was turned out, as, for example, the Ripley Kid, the Harmony Kid, the Honey Grove Kid, the Big and Little Alabama Kids, the Indiana Wonder, Gloucester Jack, Kid Niles and many others.

The con men who have monickers have often acquired them in other branches of the grift and carry them over
into the big con which, incidentally, is not so rich in colorful monickers as are many other rackets. I should like to include here such pungent monickers as the Collars and Cuffs Kid, Proud of his Tail, the Narrow Minded Kid, the Money from Home Kid, Slew Foot W—–, the Squirrel Toothed Kid, the Harum Scarum Kid, the Gash Kid, the Seldom Seen Kid, the Molasses Face Kid, and many others, but the talents of these gentry lie in other fields.

By whatever manner the monicker is acquired, it fits the personality of the bearer well and is often the only permanent name a grifter has; once it is applied and accepted, it becomes one of his few permanent possessions. It is tagged to him for life.

In the Glossary, no attempt has been made to present a complete list of con-argot; a sizable volume would result if that were attempted. Rather, a representative section of con-argot has been selected in order to clarify the argot which it has been necessary to use in the previous chapters, and at the same time to give the reader some idea of the general nature of confidence argots. Both big-con and short-con argots are represented, for it is impossible to separate them; short-con workers may not know any bigcon argot, but most of the outstanding big-con workers know and use some short-con argot along with the bigcon lingo.

Addict.
A mark who believes so firmly in a sure-thing investment that he comes back again and again. See to
knock (a mark).

Apple.
1. See
mark.
2. Any person.

The
autograph.
A short-con game in which the mark is induced to sign his autograph to a piece of paper which is later converted into a negotiable check.

Bank.
A faro-bank game.

To
bankroll.
1. For the insideman to finance an outside man with expense-money. 2. See
faro-bank
2.

The
bat.
See the
gold brick.

Bates, Mr. Bates
or
John Bates.
See
mark.

To
beat the donicker.
For two confidence men to ride the trains on one ticket by keeping one concealed in the washroom while tickets are being collected. Also to
play the run-around.

To
beef.
For a mark to complain to the police.

To
beef gun.
For a victim to complain that his pockets have been picked.

Behind the six.
See
chick.

The
best of it.
1. A prearranged method of cheating which will ostensibly allow the mark to profit by dishonest means. “All marks crave the best of it.” 2. A cinch; a sure-thing.

Big con.
Any big-time confidence game in which a mark is put on the send for his money, as contrasted to the short con where the touch is limited to the amount the mark has with him. There are three recognized big-con games: the wire, the pay-off and the rag. However, competent confidence men often put the send into short-con games, especially the smack and the tip, with very good results. Touches on the big con range from $10,000 up. Cf.
short con.

The
big block.
The second touch taken from a mark. Restricted to the rag. Cf. the
little block.

The
big mitt.
A short-con game played against a store with insidemen and ropers. The victim is enticed into the store, drawn into a crooked poker game, and is cold-decked on his own deal. See the
tear-up, big store, huge duke.

The
big store.
An establishment against which big-con men play their victims. For the wire and the pay-off, it is set up like a poolroom which takes race bets. For the rag, it is set up to resemble a broker’s office. Stores are
set up with a careful attention to detail which makes them seem bona fide. After each play, the store is taken down and all equipment stored away in charge of the manager. Also
store
1.

The
bilk.
A short-con swindle worked on a brothel-madam. Similar to
laying the flue.

To
bill (them) in.
For swindlers to induce marks to enter a swindling establishment. (Short con.)

Block game.
The three-shell game played with small hollow boxes, weighted on the top. Also the
blocks
, the
boxes
, the
dinks
, the
hinks
, the
nuts
, the
peeks
, the
shells.

To
blow.
1. tr. To allow a mark to win some money in a confidence game. “Blow a fin on the run-around.” (Short con.) 2. tr. To lose. “I blew my okus.” 3. tr. To realize. “The mark never blowed it was a gaff.” 4. intr. To leave. “Let’s blow.” 5. or
blow off.
tr. To separate the mark from the insideman or get him out of the big store after he has been fleeced. See the
cackle-bladder.

Blute.
A newspaper, especially fake clippings from a newspaper which are used in big-con games.

Board-marker.
The clerk in a big store who marks up the fake stock quotations or fake race results.

Boarding-house deceiver.
A cheap suitcase which is often left empty in a hotel when the grifter leaves without paying his bill.

Boat-rider.
A professional gambler who rides the ocean liners and frequently ropes for confidence games. Also
deep-sea gambler.

To
bobble.
To excite a mark’s suspicions, especially while short-changing him. (Short con.)

Boodle.
1. A bank roll made up to resemble the mark’s money. (Short con.) 2. On the big con, a fake bank roll of small bills made up to pass for, say $100,000. Also
B.R.

Bookmaker.
The manager of a pay-off store. See
manager.

The
boost.
The shills used in big-con games.

The
boxes.
See the
block game.

Brace
(or
braced) game.
A crooked gambling game.

The
breakdown.
The stage in big-con games where the operators find out exactly how much money the mark can raise.

Broad.
1. A railroad ticket. 2. A playing card.

The
broads.
Three-card monte. “Little Chappie Lohr used to steer against the broads for Farmer Brown.” See
open monte, closed monte.

Brush one’s tail off.
To avoid or lose someone who is following.

Bum rap.
A conviction on a trumped-up charge.

Bumblebee.
A one-dollar bill. Also
push-note, case-note. (The hype.)

The
button.
1. One method of blowing a mark off after he has been fleeced. A fake detective raids the con men and arrests them. The mark is allowed to talk his way out. Cf. the
cackle-bladder
, the
tear-up.
2. A type of short-con swindle in which the mark and the roper are accused by the insideman posing as a detective of passing counterfeit money. The insideman pretends suspicion and takes their money to “headquarters” for examination. Cf. the
shake with the button.

C
or
the c.
1. The con, or confidence games. “He’s on the C now.” 2. The mark’s confidence. “The insideman always has the mark’s C.”

C-gee.
A confidence man. (Big con.)

C-note.
A $100 bill.

The
cackle-bladder.
A method of blowing off recalcitrant or dangerous marks after they have been fleeced. The insideman shoots the roper with blank cartridges on the pretense that the roper has ruined both the mark and the insideman. He then hands the mark the gun,
while the roper spurts blood on the mark from a rubber bladder he holds in his mouth. The mark flees, thinking he is an accessory to murder. The insideman keeps in touch with him for some time and sends him to various cities on the pretext of avoiding arrest. (Big con.) Cf. to
cool a mark out.

Cannon.
A pickpocket. Also
gun, whizz, dip
, etc.

Cap.
Expenses connected with roping and fleecing a mark, especially the roper’s expenses while he is on the road. See to
cut up the score.
Also the
nut.

The
Carrie Watson.
The best; anything or anyone of high quality or high attainments. From the old Carrie Watson House in Chicago.

Chick
or
chicane.
Short of money. Also
behind the six.

To
chill.
1. For a mark to lose interest in a con game. 2. To refuse to recognize someone. 3. To stack a deck of cards. (Gambling and short-con games.)

Chump.
See
mark.

To
clean.
To strip, as to strip the equipment out of the store.

To
clear the book.
For the police to attempt to pin several unsolved crimes on a known criminal.

Closed monte.
A monte game played in a store, with ropers and an insideman. Now obsolescent. See
three-card monte.

Coarse ones.
Large bills used to impress the mark in a big store. (Big con.)

The
cold-poke.
A mock-con game played on gun-molls for a joke. A young grifter points out an old grifter as a wealthy old gentleman and connives with the girl to steal his wallet. Meanwhile, the old man has substituted for his full wallet one filled with paper and often garnished with ribald verses. Just as the girl slips out of the night club with the wallet, the old man “beefs gun” and a hue and cry is raised after the girl. Cf. the
engineer’s daughter
, the
tish.

To
come hot.
To take a con-touch when the victim realizes he is swindled. See the
pay-off against the wall.

Come-on.
1. See
mark.
2. A mark who has been put on the send and is returning to be fleeced.

Come-through.
A fleeced mark who refuses to be blown off and follows confidence men or attempts to have them arrested.

Confidence game
or
con game.
Any type of swindle in which the mark is allowed to profit by dishonest means, then is induced to make a large investment and is fleeced.

Con mob.
1. On the big con, the personnel of the big store, strictly speaking, the insideman, the manager or bookmaker, and the staff of ropers and shills. 2. On the short con, an insideman, his ropers and handlers. Also
mob.

Consideration.
A straight fee paid the boost in stores where they do not work on a percentage basis.

Convincer.
The cash which the mark is permitted to win before he is given the big play.

To
cool (a mark) out.
To pacify a mark after he has been fleeced. Most marks are kept under perfect control by the insideman. Cf. the
cackle-bladder
, the
button
, to
blow
5, the
tear-up.

To
cop.
1. v. To take money from a mark, in contrast to To
blow.
1. 2. v. To take, as to cop a peek, etc. 3. n. The money which a mark is allowed to win.

To
cop a heel.
To run away. Also to
light a rag
, to
take a powder.
Cf. to
cop.

Copper on and copper off.
A crooked system for beating the faro-bank from the outside, worked by a mob of four—one of whom keeps the cases. The case-keeper, by means of a hair and a swivel attachment, removes the copper from a bet which he sees is going to win, thus keeping the mob from losing its money.

To
cop the short.
For a railroad conductor to accept half-fare
from grifters, few of whom ever pay full fare on any transportation system. “A kinky kayducer will always cop the short.”

The
count and read.
A short-con swindle in which a mark’s money is examined, presumably for counterfeit bills or for premium notes, and he is fleeced by the
slide.
(q.v.)