Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(UK Und.) a detective who specialises in surveillance of pickpockets.

1930

Eve. Herald (Dublin) 9 Dec. 4/6: A ‘bus-tailer’ is a detective on duty at bus stops looking for ‘whizzers’ among the crowd.

1. (UK Und.) a pickpocket who specializes in loose cash and purses (as opposed to jewellery or handkerchiefs).

1859		Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc. 15: Buz-Bloak a pickpocket, who principally confines his attention to purses and loose cash.
1864, 1867, 1870		Hotten Sl. Dict.
1873		Sl. Dict.
1888		‘Garryowen’ Chrons Early Melbourne, 1835 to 1852 715: The only contretemps [...] was a detectied case of pocket-picking. There was some notion of pitching the Van Diemonian ‘buz-bloke’ into the river,.
1938		Hartlepool Northern Dly Mail 15 Jan. 7/3: A pickpocket, amongst the fraternity, is a ‘buzz bloke’ or a ‘whizzer’ .

2. see buz-bloke under buzz v.¹

(UK Und.) a pickpocket.

1812		Vaux Vocab. of the Flash Lang. in McLachlan (1964) 231: buz-cove, or buz-gloak a pickpocket; a person who is clever at this practice, is said to be a good buz.
1891		K. Lenzner Colonial Eng. 15: Buz-cove, a word most likely taken out to Australia by the convicts transported thither.

a pickpocket, esp. one who makes the victims drunk before robbing them.

1909

J. Ware Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era.

picking pockets.

1859, 1860		Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc.
1870		Hotten Sl. Dict.
1873		Sl. Dict.
1888		‘Almhain’ Jewels of Prince de Janville 167: This is to be no buz-faking, stall-chucking job.
1909		J. Ware Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era.

(UK Und.) a pickpocket.

1812		Vaux Memoirs in McLachlan (1964) 77: Our society was increased by several new chums before the sessions, and as these persons were some degrees above the common class of thieves, I found much satisfaction in their conversation. There were indeed among them some of the first characters upon the town, leading men in the various branches of prigging they professed; both toby-gills, buz-gloaks, cracksmen, &c., but from their good address and respectable appearance, nobody would suspect their real vocation.
1812		Vaux Vocab. of the Flash Lang. in McLachlan (1964) 231: buz-cove, or buz-gloak a pickpocket; a person who is clever at this practice, is said to be a good buz.
1819		Westmorland Gaz. 6 Feb. 8/2: Among them [were] leading men in the various branches of prigging [...] toby-gills, buz-gloaks, cracksmen.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1830		Lytton Paul Clifford I 102: He who surreptitiously accumulates bustle is in fact nothing better than a buzz-gloak!
1852		Launceston Examiner (Tas.) 24 Dec. 862/1: [Those] who affect to be ministers, and preach in the open air to collect crowds for the benefit of those whose ‘mawleys’ dip deep into the ‘cly’ or who ‘fake a blowens;’ and whether ‘magsmen,’ ‘buzgloaks,’ or ‘dummy-hunters’ give the ‘reglars to their ‘benculls’-pick pockets, and share the spoil with their confederates.
1859		G.A. Sala Twice Round the Clock 166: Where these ruffiani, these copper captains and cozening buz-gloaks, are to be found [...] must remain a secret.
1882		St James’s Gaz. 20 Feb. 6/1: Another class of pickpocket is one which frequents omnibuses, steamboats, and railway carriages [...] All are known as bus-gloaks.
1895		Stark Co. Democrat 25 Apr. 6/2: Joe Dubuque is [...] about as fine a worker, too, as ever worried Scotland yard. They used to call Joe ‘the Buzzgloak’.

(UK und.) a pickpocket.

1870

(con. 1800s) Leeds Times 7 May 6/6: The three ‘buzz grabs’ then went into Fleet-street, and selecting a likely man [...] Bromley picked a pocket, his companions covering him.

a trainer of young pickpockets.

1864, 1867, 1870

Hotten Sl. Dict.

1. (UK Und.) a pickpocket.

c.1786		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue ms. additions n.p.: Buzman a Pickpocket. Cant.
1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue (2nd, 3rd edn).
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1828		Morn. Chron. (London) 10 Oct. 4/5: They were recognized as notorious ‘Buzmen,’ i.e. fellows who confine their talents to stealing handkerchiefs from the pockets of passengers.
1830		W.T. Moncrieff Heart of London II i: Cracksmen, buzmen, scampsmen, we [...] On the spice gloak high toby / We frisk so rummy, / And ramp so plummy.
1836		in Flash Casket 67: [song title] Charley The Buzzman and Mot!
1840		Flash Mirror 7: The most prominent class of flash characters are the following: — Swell Mob Men, Buzmen, Margeries, Cracksmen, Fogle-hunters, Sloggers.
1856		H. Mayhew Great World of London II 111: The London buzman (swell mobsman) can keep his pony by abstracting ‘skin’ (purses) from gentlemen’s pockets.
1859		‘Scene in a London Flash-Panny’ Matsell Vocabulum 102: Here a snafler lay snoring on a bench, while a buzman, just half a degree less intoxicated, was endeavoring to pick his pocket.
1865		Leaves from Diary of Celebrated Burglar 60/1: The names of Marty Fitz, Jem Keefe and Barrington were known far and near as belonging to the most daring and skillful ‘buzz’ men in the country. [Ibid.] 102/1: Captain Grant was a skillful ‘buz-man’ and reckoned A No. 1 among the fraternity.
1877		Examiner (London) 17 Mar. 13/2: ‘That Fiddling Jack [...] He’s been about saying you was a Buz-man’.
1890		(ref. to 1820s) C. Hindley Vocab. and Gloss. in True Hist. of Tom and Jerry 158: Billy Buzman. A class of pickpockets who confine their attention exclusively to silk pocket handkerchiefs.

2. see buzzman under buzz n.

(UK und.) a gang of pickpockets.

1935

Thieves Slang ms list from District Police Training Centre, Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Warwicks 2: Pickpocket [sic].

see bus-napper n.

see bus-napper’s academy under bus-napper n.

see bus-napper’s kinchin under bus-napper n.

(Uk Und.) a member of a superior pickpocket gang.

1828		Eve. Standard (London) 26 June : These men are denominated in the slang phraseology swell burz-men [sic], and any thing less than a good watch, or a well-lined pocket-book, is perfectly beneath their notice.
1828		Morn. Advertiser (London) 2 Oct. 4/2: These ladies had quarrelled about a ‘swell buz-man’ [...] and it also appeared that [...] the ‘swell buz-man,’ was so disgusted with the quanel that he took himself off ‘vith a vidow’ who kept chandler’s shop.