The Big Con (39 page)

Lagged.
Sent to prison.

Lamster.
One who is wanted by the law.

Larceny.
A tendency to steal; “thieves’ blood.”

The
last turn.
A faro-bank con game in which the dealer agrees to tip off the mark to the last turn, on which the betting is very heavy. The mark loses steadily during the early part of the game, and thus finds it impossible to recoup on the last turn. “After the mob finished with G—– R—–, they turned him over to us and we gave him the last turn for $50,000.” See
faro-bank
1 and 2.

To
lay the flue.
To work a short-con swindle in which money is put into an envelope (flue) in the victim’s presence, then removed through a slit. Another version swindles a merchant who changes a twenty-dollar bill
and retains an envelope which he believes to contain twenty dollars. See the switch. Cf. the
bilk
, the
cold poke
, the
poke
2, the
tish.

To
light a rag.
See to
cop a heel.

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

Lookout.
A member of the con mob who serves as doorman for the big store.

Lop-eared.
Stupid. Used in reference to a victim so stupid that he cannot see his own advantage in a con game, sometimes so stupid that he cannot be trimmed. See
mark.
Cf. to
knock a mark.

Lugger.
See
outsideman.

To
lug.
To steer a mark for a confidence game.

To
make.
To see or recognize.

To
make a man on his merits.
Theoretically, for a detective to be able to pick up a grifter even though he does not know him; to recognize that he is a grifter from his manners and general appearance. “Camera Eye McCarthy is the only dick in the country who can really make a man on his merits.” Actually, there probably are no such detectives.

The
manager.
The member of a con mob who has charge of the big store. See
bookmaker.
(Big con only.) Cf.
handler.

Mark.
1. A victim, or intended victim. Also
apple, Bates, egg, fink, John Bates, Mr. Bates, savage, winchell, chump.
2. A term of disdain and opprobrium, applied to anyone. For specialized meanings see
addict, comeon, come-through, lop-eared.

Meg.
A one-cent piece, used in the smack.

Mickey Finn.
Confidence men use the term to denote a very fast physic given by the bartender to cocky grifters after the toilet doors have been locked.

Mill’s lock.
A sure-thing.

To
mitt a man in.
To get a mark to bet a stack of checks
placed before him, or to bet them for him, to get him into a mitt-game. (Short con.) See
big mitt.

Mob.
See
con mob.

The
money box.
A swindle in which the mark is induced to purchase a machine which he thinks will make genuine paper money. (Short con.)

Monicker.
An underworld nickname.

Mudkicker.
A prostitute.

Mugged.
Photographed for the rogues’ gallery.

The
mush.
A short-con game played at the ball parks. The operator poses as a bookmaker, takes money for bets, then raises his umbrella (the mush) and disappears into the maze of umbrellas in the bleachers.

Nut.
See
cap
, to
cut up the score.

The
nuts.
See
block game.

The
odds.
1. See
forty-some-odd.
2. A woman, especially one who does or will support her man through prostitution.

The
office.
1. On the big con, a cluck with the tongue or velar fricative used as a signal among members of the mob while the mark is being played. Also, a similar sound made on the street when a con man does not want other grifters to recognize him. 2. Any private signal, as with the eyes, or hands. For details see Section 5 of the chapter
The Mob.

Open monte.
Three-card monte played outside, as contrasted to closed monte. See
three-card monte.

Outsideman.
The member of the con mob who locates the mark, brings him to the store and assists in fleecing him. Also
lugger, roper.

Pack it in
or
pack the racket in.
To leave the grift for some legitimate form of business.

To
pad the cap
or
pad the nut.
For a roper to falsify his expense account. (Big con.) See to
cut up the score.

Panel store.
A brothel where marks are robbed.

Paper.
A check or other negotiable document.

Pay-off.
A big-con man.

The
pay-off.
The most lucrative of all big-con games, with touches running from $10,000 up, with those of $100,000 being common. It operates on the principle that a wealthy mark is induced to believe that he has been taken into a deal whereby a large racing syndicate is to be swindled. At first he plays with money furnished him by the confidence men, then is put on the send for all the cash he can raise, fleeced, and blown off. The pay-off (invented in 1906) evolved from the short-pay at the
track
(q.v.) and was fully developed by 1910, when the big stores appeared in many of the larger cities. See
big con.
For details see
Chapter 3
.

The
pay-off against the wall.
A type of the pay-off which is played without a store, boosters, props, etc. Good confidence men can take off a touch this way, but it always comes
hot
(q.v.) and facilities for cooling the mark out are lacking.

The
peeks.
See
block game.

Peter.
A safe.

Pick-up guy.
A “wise” outsider who hangs around a monte or shell game hoping to beat the operators at their own game. (Short con.) Cf.
fly-gee.

The
pigeon.
See the
short-deck.

To play the C.
1. To get a mark’s confidence. “I’ll play the C for that old pappy.” 2. To operate a confidence game.

To
play the chill.
To ignore someone. “We’ll play the chill for him.”

To
play the hinge
or
work the hinge.
To look behind. “Don’t play the hinge or you may get sneezed for it.”

To
play the run-around.
See to
beat the donicker.

Plinger.
A street beggar.

Pogy O’Brien.
A grifter who will not pay his debts.

Point-out.
1. A method of tying up a mark for the big-con games. The outsideman points out the insideman as a
former acquaintance who has very good connections in racing or investments. 2. An agent who locates prospective marks for a roper on a percentage basis.

The
poke.
1. A method of tying up the mark for the payoff or the rag. The outsideman and the mark find a pocketbook containing a large amount of money, a code-cipher, newspaper clippings describing the owner’s phenomenal success in either gambling or races or in stock-market investments, and race tickets or stock receipts. (Big con.) Also to
find the leather.
2. A short-con game in which the mark and the outsideman find a wallet full of money. The mark is induced to raise a fund equal to the amount in the wallet to show his good faith. When he gets the pocketbook, it contains only scraps of newspaper. Now played mainly by Negroes, Gypsies and Italians.

The
prat-out.
See the
shut-out.

To
punch the guff.
See to
cut up the old scores.

Push-note.
1. A one-dollar bill. Also
bumblebee, case-note, seed, fish.
2. A person who resembles someone else. “He was a push-note for John W. Gates.” Also
stand-in.
Cf. to
put (someone) away.

To
put (one’s) hump up.
To stall for a pickpocket mob; that is, to use the hips to jockey the victim into position and distract his attention while his pockets are picked. Also to
stall
, to
prat (a mark) in.

To
put (someone) away.
For a confidence man to pose as some prominent person whom he resembles, or to point out an accomplice as some prominent person.

To
put the bite on.
To try to borrow money.

To
put the finger on.
For a roper to locate a good prospective mark, especially in line at a railroad ticket office. Some ropers (especially for the tip) have agents who put up marks for them in advance and are paid a commission.

To
put the mug on (a mark).
To put a strangle-hold on a mark who grows obstreperous after he has been fleeced. Cf. the
cackle-bladder.

To
put the shiv in the touch.
See to
cut up the score.

The
quill.
Genuine. Cf.
crow.

The
rag.
An intricate big-con game very similar to the pay-off, except that stocks are used instead of races. The insideman poses as an agent for a broker’s syndicate which is trying to break the bucket-shops. The mark profits on several investments, is sent for a large sum of money, and is fleeced. See
big-con.

Raggle.
An attractive young girl.

Rags.
Clothing.

To
raise.
To signal by raising the hat.

To
raise a mark.
To force a mark in a confidence game to raise his price by bluffing as in poker. “I was playing the hinks and I raised a mark that had a C-note in his seams. He blowed it on the run-around.”

To
rank a joint.
For a grifter to make a mistake while a mark is being played for, thus revealing that the confidence game is crooked. If the mark sees the mistake and realizes what is happening, the store is then ranked. See to
crack out of turn.

Rat.
See
stool pigeon.

Ribbing hand.
The member of a mitt-mob who has a set line of humorous talk which he keeps going while the mark is being fleeced. He distracts the mark’s attention from the still hand, who holds the winning cards. The ribbing hand is usually a large man, the still hand a small man. See the
big mitt.

To
ride in (a mark).
To rope a mark and bring him to the store. See to
steer against the store.

Ridge.
Metal money.

Right.
1. As in right territory, territory protected by the fix. 2. As in right copper, one who will accept a bribe.
3. As in right guy, one who is trustworthy, especially one who is in sympathy with criminals. Cf.
wrong.

To
rip and tear.
To grift without restriction in a protected or “air-tight” area.

The
rocks.
A short-con diamond swindle in which the mark is shown “stolen” diamonds and invited to have a jeweller evaluate them. The ones submitted are good, the rest are paste.

To
roll.
To rob someone, especially a drunk. Largely used of prostitutes.

To
rope.
To secure a mark for a confidence game. Also to
lug
, to
steer
, to
guide.

Roper.
See
outsideman.

To
rumble.
To excite a mark’s suspicions. Cf. to
knock.

Savage.
See
mark.

Sawbuck
or
saw.
A ten-dollar bill.

Scat.
Whisky.

Scatter.
A saloon.

The score.
See
touch.

Seed.
See
push-note
1.

The
send.
The stage in big-con games at which the mark is sent home for a large amount of money.

Send store.
Any type of store which plays for a mark and sends him home for his money. (Short con and circus grift.) Not to be confused with big store.

To
sew a man up.
1. To caution a mark, who has just been beaten with a short-change racket (but doesn’t know it), against pickpockets, then sew his wallet in his pocket with needle and thread carried for the purpose. (Short con.) 2. To make any arrangements necessary to prevent the mark from causing trouble after he has been fleeced. (Big con.) See to
cool a mark out.

The
shake.
1. A shakedown; extortion of money from criminals by officers. 2. See the
shake with the button.

The
shake with the button.
A short-con swindle in which
the mark and the operators are arrested for gambling on the street and “shaken down” by a fake officer.

Shed.
1. The railroad station. 2. Loosely, any terminal, as a bus station.

Sheet writer.
A minor employee in a big store—usually the clerk who takes the bets.

Shill
or
shillaber.
An accomplice who plays a confidence game so that the mark sees him win. Many con games use shills, but in the big con the shills are frequently professional confidence men who dress and act the parts of men high in the financial world.

The
shiv.
A short-con game played with a knife, the blades of which can be locked at will. Cf. the
slough.

Short con.
As contrasted to the big con, those games which generally operate without the send. Also
little con.

The
short-deck.
A short-con game operated by a man who drops one card out of a deck he has offered to sell a mark very cheaply. They argue over whether or not it is a full deck, then bet. The mark thinks the deck is short one card, but the operator produces a full deck. Also the
pigeon.

The
short pay at the track.
A crude, short-con version of the pay-off, played by race-track touts without a store, etc. See the
pay-off.