Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. one who defrauds another of their money; also attrib.

1781		G. Parker View of Society II 235: He can take an inventory of the worth and effects of a man with the acuteness of a christie or a skinner.
1821		J.F. Cooper ‘The Spy’ in Novel Newspaper (1845) I 99/2: The poor opinion of the Skinners [...] whose sole occupation appears to have been relieving their fellow citizens from any excess of temporal prosperity they might be thought to enjoy, under the pretence of patriotism.
1848		‘Ned Buntline’ Mysteries and Miseries of N.Y. III 57: Then I’ll do as the lawyers does when they finds one of us in trouble – I means the reg’lar skinners – I’ll take my pay afore ’and.
1859		N.Y. Daily Trib. 28 Feb. 7/4: The skinner lawyers have each their runners, who, as soon as they hear of an important arrest, hurry off to apprise their masters.
1873		J. Greenwood In Strange Company 80: Amongst themselves they are ‘skinners,’ ‘knock-outs,’ and ‘odd-trick men,’ and they work together in what the elegant language of their profession calls a ‘swim’.
1910		‘Doss Chiderdoss’ ‘A Derby Bet’ Sporting Times 28 May 1/2: ‘What a down-hearted dial for Epsom!’ Lamb Skinner, the penciller, said.
1926		Maines & Grant Wise-crack Dict. 14/2: Skinners – bell hops according to hobos.
1959		C. Himes Crazy Kill 102: Make way for a skinner from way back.

2. (orig. UK Und.) one who has no money.

1833		Oxford Jrnl 5 Jan. 3/5: Collinson rubbed his hands up and down the ides of the prosecutor and not fidning ahnything, he observed ‘he was a dead skinner’.
1865		Leaves from Diary of Celebrated Burglar 12/2: His regular ‘pal’ was lying sick at home, and he being almost a ‘skinner’ in the ‘sugar’ line, could wait no longer.
1887		‘Tramps: Their Ways & Means’ in Wellington Jrnl 17 Sept. 2/6: [T]hey were all ‘skinners’ (out of cash) and would have to ‘pad the hoof’.
1941		F. Sargeson ‘That Summer’ in Coll. Stories (1965) 159: I didn’t have the price of a tram fare because Ted had left me a skinner.

3. (Aus.) a horse that wins despite very long odds; by ext. any form of racing coup.

1858		N.Y. Trib. 12 Feb. 3/2: The square gambler abhors the ‘skinner’.
1884		Referee 10 Aug. 1/1: The winner being found in Quilt, who had sufficient support to leave the result anything but a skinner for the bookmakers [F&H].
1889		Dead Bird (Sydney) 27 Oct. 8/3: ‘Come on, you — , come on,’ he shouted to his skinner, who was lying a good second.
1913		Sport (Adelaide) 1 Feb. 12/1: They Say [...] That Big Black Alex got a skinner. Plenty of beer now, Mac.
1915		Drew & Evans Grafter (1922) 4: ‘Skinner?’ queried the little man. ‘Skinner?’ said The Grafter. He was my absolute worst’.
1966		J. Holledge Great Aust. Gamble 69: He scored his biggest single race win when Zulu won the 1881 Melbourne Cup to give him a virtual ‘skinner’.
1983		R. Aven-Bray Ridgey-Didge Oz Jack Lang 43: Skinner Win all bets taken.
1996		Ozwords Oct. 🌐 skinner a horse that wins at very long odds; any betting coup. This sense appears in Australian English in the 1890s, and probable derives from British slang skinner ‘a person who strips another of money’.
2013		T. Peacock More You Bet 38: An unsupported winning runner [...] is known as a ‘skinner’.

4. a bet that brings large profits to the bookmakers [20C+ use mainly Aus./N.Z.].

1873		Sl. Dict. 293: Skinner a term among bookmakers. ‘May we have a skinner,’ i.e., may we skin the lamb.
1884		Sporting Times 15 Nov. 3/3: [caption: two bookmakers celebrating] Andy and Charlie having a ‘skinner’.
1898		W.A. Sun. Times (Perth) 9 Jan. 5/3: The bookies fell in pretty badly [and] they had to disgorge the major part of the Gaulas ‘skinner’ over the Melbourne Cup.
1898		Binstead & Wells Pink ’Un and Pelican 51: Gideon passed, smiling with satisfaction at having had a ‘skinner’.
1903		A. Binstead Pitcher in Paradise 292: A skinner! — great-balls-of-fire! a skinner!
1904		Sydney Sportsman (Surry Hills, NSW) 21 Sept. 1/1: Fortunately, they had a skinner in the first race, and at the end of the day divided £14 odd.
1914		Bulletin (Sydney) 22 Oct. 26/1: The fates have but little in bounty to give / To the ‘book’ on his perilous way, / So the struggle is hard, but a fellow can live / If they grant him five skinners a day.
1920		Northam Courier (WA) 24 Sept. 2/2: Then the punters roar and hoot ’em, the bookies cheer and sing, / And often get a skinner, when a gee gee’s had the sting.
1934		T. Wood Cobbers 96: Charles laid down his fork and said it was a skinner for the books.
1949		L. Glassop Lucky Palmer 88: Didn’t you hear the bookies cheer. It was a skinner. Didn’t write its name.
1967		‘Whisper All Aussie Dict.’ in Kings Cross Whisper (Sydney) xl 4/5: skinner: An outright win by a bookmaker.

5. (Aus.) a lawyer who frequents the courts in the hope of finding a client; the implication is one of some degree of corruption and/or incompetence.

1895

C. Crowe Aus. Sl. Dict. 74: Skinners, lawyers looking about courthouses for clients.

6. in fig. use.

1918

Kia Ora Coo-ee 15 Aug. 5/2: Later, while we were burying him, we learned that the Hun had the oil for money making right through, his ‘personal property’ including a crown and anchor board complete with a bag of about 500 Turkish coins. Perhaps he was on his way to try his luck with us, knowing what good sports we are. He was lucky, right enough, receiving a ‘skinner’ first pop.

7. (N.Z.) an object that is useless or used up.

1988		McGill Dict. of Kiwi Sl. 103/2: skinner broke or empty; in latter case you might say ‘the beer’s a skinner’.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. [as cit. 1988].