Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (UK Und.) one who steals luggage.

1859		Matsell Vocabulum 66: Peter-biter A man who steals baggage at hotels, railroad depots, and from the back of coaches.
1936		Framlingham Wkly News 4 Jan. 2/6: .

2. (UK Und.) a safe-blower.

1999

Indep. Rev. 9 June 4: Today’s slanguage guide illuminates the murky jexicon of convicts [...] Peter Biter: safe-blower.

1. (UK Und.) one who steals unguarded parcels and bags from railway stations.

1879		‘Autobiog. of a Thief’ in Macmillan’s Mag. (London) XL 502: The following people used to go in there [i.e. an underworld public house] — [...] peter-claimers (box-stealers).
1896		A. Morrison Child of the Jago (1982) 161: Josh was to take his trial [...] at the Old Bailey, and not at mere County Sessions at Clerkenwell, like a simple lob-crawler or peter-claimer.
1899		Newcastle Courant 18 Nov. 5/2: I’m tired o’ Rob Ryot the snidesman, screwsman, peter-claimer.
1912		E. Pugh City Of The World 271: A peter-claimer is a bag thief.

2. (UK police/und.) a watch thief.

1950

P. Hoskins No Hiding Place! 191/2: Peter-claimers. Watch-stealers .

stealing unguarded parcels and bags from railway stations.

1894		A. Morrison Tales of Mean Streets (1983) 150: He ventured on peter-claiming: laying hands nonchalantly on unconsidered parcels and bags at railway stations.
1896		A. Morrison Child of the Jago (1982) 154: He did not vulgar thievery: he never screwed a chat, nor claimed a peter, nor worked the mace.

an implement used to break into safes.

1861

(con. 1840s–50s) H. Mayhew London Labour and London Poor IV 339/2: Some cracksmen have what is called a petter-cutter, that is, a cutter for iron safes.

the stealing of boxes, parcels, bags etc, esp. from carriages.

1890–1904

Farmer & Henley Sl. and Its Analogues.

(US Und.) a safe-cracker.

1940

D. Maurer Big Con 284: Peter-gees (safeblowers) are usually silent boys.

(UK Und.) the stealing of baggage and boxes.

1812		Vaux Vocab. of the Flash Lang. in McLachlan (1964) 257: peter-hunting: traversing the streets or roads for the purpose of cutting away trunks, &c., from travelling carriages; persons who follow this game, are from thence called peter-hunters, whereas the drag more properly applies to robbing carts or waggons.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue [as cit. 1812].
1836		A. Thornton Don Juan in London II 403: Prigging, diving, dummy-hunting, peter-hunting. These are various branches of the same art.

(UK Und.) the stealing of baggage and boxes.

1724		‘Frisky Moll’s Song’ in J. Thurmond Harlequin Sheppard 22: From Priggs that snaffle the Prancers strong, / To you of the Peter Lay, / I pray now listen a while to my song, / How my Boman he hick’d [sic; ? kick’d] away.
1737, 1759, 1760, 1776		Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. n.p.: peter lay Rogues who follow petty Thefts; such as cutting Portmanteau’s, &c . from behind Coaches, breaking Shop Glasses, &c.
c.1786		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue ms. additions n.p.: Peter or Peter-Lay, the Department of Stealing Portmeanteuus, Trunks, &c.
1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue (2nd, 3rd edn).
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1845		J. Lindridge Sixteen-String Jack 206: From prigs that squabble the prancer’s strong, / To yon of the peter-lay.

1. a safecracker.

1812		Sporting Mag. XXXIX. 209: As good a cracksman or peter-man as any in the ring.
1863		Story of a Lancashire Thief 9: Sometimes he’d turn peterman, and he had been generally lucky at it.
1891		Emporia Dly Repub. (KS) 28 Apr. 3/2: A safe blower is a ‘peter man,’ ‘box man’ [...] formerly called ‘gopher blowers’.
1907		Wash. Times (DC) 6 Oct. 11/1: One of whom I knew to be a ‘peterman’ or safeblower.
1903		H. Hapgood Autobiog. of a Thief 69: One of the swellest ‘Peter’ men (safe-blowers) in the profession.
1914		Wash. Post 11 Nov. Misc. 3/5: The boxman has a string of monachers such as ‘peterman,’ ‘yeggman,’ ‘blaster,’ ‘heavyman’ and ‘soup man.’.
1923		O.O. McIntyre New York Day by Day 25 July [synd. col.] The Tenderloin underworld has its tony set just as the higher strata of society [...] The peterman, or safe blower, will not mingle with the porch climber.
1933		‘Goat’ Laven Rough Stuff 34: In his younger days he had worked with some of the best petermen (safe-blowers) in the country.
1956		N. Algren Walk on the Wild Side 258: I found it was [...] some San Diego peterman who’d been out of range over a year.
1956		‘Charles Raven’ Und. Nights 26: I’ve known several good petermen – safe-breakers – in my time.
1960		A. Burgess Doctor Is Sick (1972) 147: Leo Stone mentioned the word ‘peterman’ [...] Instruments clinked and probed, and the lock always promised coyly to yield.
1962		Ragen & Finston World’s Toughest Prison 812: peter man – A safe-blower.
1979		K. Bonfiglioli After You with the Pistol (1991) 332: Every [...] professional team of thieves has a [...] ‘peterman’ who can use a thermic lance on a safe [etc].
2004		T. Dorsey Cadillac Beach 189: ‘What’s the last you heard?’ ’He was mixing with some trouble boys on the flimflam, putting screws to a Peterman after the box job.’.
2014		Guardian CiF 8 June 🌐 A two stretch for shoplifting and you would come out a fully trained armed blagger or peterman.

2. a thief who specializes in stealing goods from the back of vans and carts.

1823		‘Jon Bee’ Dict. of the Turf, the Ring, the Chase, etc. 134: Peter Petermen ? those who follow coaches and waggons to cut off packages.
1828		Morn. Advertiser (London) 2 Oct. 4/2: [T]he very men greatly prized by rival damsels are the respective callings, in the flash vocabulary known as follows; ‘Peter-men’ (coach robbers); ‘cracksmen’ (house-breakers); ‘fogle- hunters’ (pickpockets) [and] ‘buz-men,’ also a term for pickpockets in crowds.
1839		W.A. Miles Poverty, Mendicity and Crime; Report 138: Petermen, the last, men who cut trunks, &c, from carriages.
1847		G.W.M. Reynolds Mysteries of London III 85/1: A Stranger—looked like a peterman. Busy-sack, redge-yack, six wedge-feeders, and togs in a busy-sack .
1863		Story of a Lancashire Thief 9: Sometimes he’d turn peterman. [Ibid.] 15: (peterman) A stealer of luggage and goods from vehicles.
1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict.

(Aus.) stealing from tills.

1900–10

Stephens & O’Brien Materials for a Dict. of Aus. Sl. [unpub. ms.].

(Aus.) a thief of packages, parcels, suitcases, etc.

1895

Truth (Sydney) 5 May 5/6: Lizzie Footer, who was one of Mrs Asprey’s gang of hooks, peter-pullers and shop-lifters.

breaking open safes.

1868

‘Six Years in the Prisons of England’ in Temple Bar Mag. Nov. 537: ‘Why, ‘lob’ means a till, and ‘Peter’ means a safe. Stealing the till and opening the safe is what we call ‘lob-sneaking’ and ‘Peter-screwing’.

(Aus. und.) a till thief.

1895		Clipper (Hobart) 5 Oct. 7/1: They call a till-thief in Melbourne a ‘peter sneaker’ or a ‘galley-shover’.
1897		Clipper (Hobart) 7 Aug. 7/1: ‘Peter sneaking’ is what they call robbing a till in the slang of the gutter, also ‘galley shoving’.
1900		Aus. Star (Sydney) 6 June 5/4: Let us look at the company. Ask a detective what It Is made up of and, he will tell you, ‘Oh, spielers, wasters, bludgers, thieves, burglars, dippers, Peter sneakers, snatchers, wiffle coppers, galley shovers, and so forth’.

(Aus. prison) one who steals from a fellow prisoner’s cell, thus peter-thieve, peter-thieving.

1984		B. Ellem Doing Time 105: Another serious offence is that of ‘peter thieving’ A peter thief is someone who steals from another prisoner’s cell [ibid.] app. C 247: Other important rules are [...] you don’t associate with a screw on a personal basis, and you don’t peter thieve.
1990		Tupper & Wortley Aus. Prison Sl. Gloss. 🌐 Peter thief. Someone who steals from another prisoner’s cell. Considered a despicable act by other prisoners.

safe-breaking.

1931

Irwin Amer. Tramp and Und. Sl. 143: Peter Work.–Safe robbery.

to steal suitcases or portmanteaux.

1665		Head Eng. Rogue 47: Bite the Peter or Roger Steal the Portmantle or Cloak-bag.
1674		Head Canting Academy (2nd edn).
1684		W. Nevison in Newgate Calendar I (1926) 291: ‘Now,’ saith he, ‘that thou art entered into our fraternity, thou must not scruple to act any villainies which thou shalt be able to perform, whether it be to nip a bung, bite the Peter Cloy.’.
c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Bite the Peeter, c. to whip off the Cloak-bag. Biter of Peeters, c. one that makes a Trade of whipping Boxes and Trunks from behind a Coach or out of a Waggon, or off a Horse’s Back.
1714		A. Smith Lives of Most Noted Highway-men, etc. I 209: Bite the Peter or Roger, that is, steal the Portmantle or Cloak-bag.
1725		New Canting Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
1734		C. Johnson Hist. of Highwaymen &c. 105: [as cit. 1684].
1737, 1759, 1760, 1776		Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict.

(Aus.) a cell for solitary confinement.

1931		Worker’s Wkly (Sydney) 23 Oct. 4: He was seized, portered to the Black Peter accompanied by the kicking and punching of several of them [i.e. ‘screws’].
1945		K. Tennant in Sun (Sydney) 25 Feb. 3: The Black Peter in Long Bay [Jail] is a black cell where can you sit and be eaten by mosquitoes.
1953		K. Tennant Joyful Condemned 208: No remissions for Buckley. He was almost always in the black peter on bread and water.
1968		J. Alard He who Shoots Last 151: It makes me shudder ta think of him slaued up in da Black Peter.
1974		Adamson & Hanford Zimmer’s Essay 80: The Justice gave Glaister 24 hours in the black peter.
1984		Partridge DSUE (8th edn) 89/1: since ca. 1920.
1990		Tupper & Wortley Aus. Prison Sl. Gloss. 🌐 Black peter. A cell.
2006		B. Matthews Intractable 80: When I came to I was lying on my back in the ‘Black Peter’ [solitary confinement cell].

(UK Und.) steal luggage from a carriage.

1799

‘Cant Lang. of Thieves’ Monthly Mag. 7 Jan. n.p.: Napping a Peter Cutting a Trunk from a Carriage.

(US Und.) working as a safebreaker.

1949

Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).

(US Und.) to blow open a safe.

1949

Monteleone Criminal Sl. (rev. edn).

(Aus.) to testify against.

1913

Truth (Sydney) 13 July 4/2: Them as buys it [i.e. opium] don't turn peter / On the agents, for it's plain / If they did, they'd surely never / Have a chance to buy again.