Green’s Dictionary of Slang

defeated, defrauded.

1818		J. Hogg Brownie of Bodsbeck II 55: Father – the thing is impossible. Was ever a poor creature so hard bested!
1859, 1860		Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc.
1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict.
1871–82		B.M. Carew Life and Adventures.
1896		G.F. Northall Warwickshire Word-Book 28: Bested. Cheated, overreached.
1917		Dly Record (Glasgow) 22 Sept. 3/4: [headline] Five Enemy Warships Enaged and bested.
1925		L. Doyle Dear Ducks 260: ‘Well, you’re surely not goin’ to let her get the better of you, Mr. Anthony?’ sez I. ‘I never saw you bested before.’.
1968		J. Speight ‘The Funeral’ Till Death Us Do Part [TV script] That’s typical, that is. When you’re bested – go to bed.
2003		IndyStar.com 18 June 🌐 The 14th-ranked Trojans have rarely been bested and are one of the state’s hottest teams.

1. a villain who is equally happy to use physical force or verbal deceits to extract money from victims.

1856		H. Mayhew Great World of London I 46: ‘Bouncers’ and ‘besters,’ who cheat by laying wagers. [Ibid.] II 90: The ‘Bouncers’ and ‘Besters’ [obtain their means] by betting, intimidating, or talking people out of their property.
1861		(con. 1840s–50s) H. Mayhew London Labour and London Poor IV 24: ‘Bouncers and Besters’ defrauding, by laying wagers, swaggering, or using threats.
1877		S. James Vagabond Papers (3rd series) 136: You have to go into general business. You must be a magsman, a pincher, a picker-up, a flatcatcher, a bester.
1888		Morpeth Herald 27 Oct. 5/3: Bouncers, Besters, Wheezers .
1882		Sydney Sl. Dict. (2 edn) 2: Bouncers and Besters - Defrauding by wagers (at races, and elsewhere), by swagging and using threats.
1885		Eve. News (London) 21 Sept 4 1: The complainant called her father a liar, ‘a bester and a crawler.’ [F&H].

2. a fraudulent bookmaker.

1859		Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc. 5: bester, a low betting cheat.
1860		Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc. [as cit. 1859].
1873		Sl. Dict. 82: Bester, a low betting cheat, a fraudulent book-maker.
1941		Baker Popular Dict. Aus. Sl. 9: Bester, a fraudulent bookmaker.
1999		G. Seal Lingo 45: A dishonest bookmaker was called a bester while a horse certain to win was a dead bird, terms that also belonged to the parlance of the wider fraternity of the turf.

3. (UK Und.) a criminal who deceives his peers.

1865

Leaves from Diary of Celebrated Burglar 92/2: He [...] said he was going to ‘turn up’ his ‘mob,’ for he knew well that they were a crowd of ‘besters,’ and were in the habit of ‘weeding’ the ‘pokes’ when he slung them to them.

4. (Aus.) one who lives by their wits.

1899

Singleton Argus (NSW) 23 May. 3/2: Mr Taylor asked who and what this man was, and applicant replied that he was a ‘bester,’ who never worked, but got a living by singing songs at clubs .

to live as a professional criminal.

1812		Vaux Vocab. of the Flash Lang. in McLachlan (1964) 227: best: to get your money at the best, signifies to live by dishonest or fraudulent practices, without labour or industry, according to the general acceptation of the latter word; but, certainly, no persons have more occasion to be industrious, and in a state of perpetual action than cross-coves; and experience has proved, when too late, to many of them, that honesty is the best policy; and, consequently, that the above phrase is by no means a-propos.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.