cutpurses
Historical bag slashers
Cutpurses is the plural of cutpurse, an old term for a thief who stole by cutting purses from belts—the historical method before pockets became common.
The word survives mainly in historical fiction and period dramas: The market was thick with cutpurses and pickpockets.
Now largely synonymous with pickpocket, though cutpurse sounds more archaic and literary.
Those who commit larceny
- roguesDishonest or deviant individuals
- ElizabethanOf late 1500s England
- knavesDeceitful, unscrupulous men
- villainsEvil characters in narratives
scoundrels · vagabonds · Tudor · criminals · streetwise · ruffians · cutthroats · lawbreakers
Flat cutting edge
- razorBlade for removing hair
- slicingCutting into portions
- stealthSecret, undetected movement
- crowdLarge public gathering
distraction · pouch · coins · belt · deft · fingers · nimble · slash
- DickensSurname of Victorian novelist
- ShakespeareElizabethan dramatist and poet
- rogues galleryArchive of criminal photographs
- Artful DodgerCrafty child criminal
Oliver Twist · Falstaff · picaresque · underworld · penny dreadful · Newgate · broadsides · gallows
thieves
Those who commit larceny
- roguesDishonest or deviant individuals
- ElizabethanOf late 1500s England
- knavesDeceitful, unscrupulous men
villains · scoundrels · vagabonds · Tudor · criminals · streetwise · ruffians · cutthroats · lawbreakers · felons
blade
Flat cutting edge
crowd · distraction · pouch · coins · belt · deft · fingers · nimble · slash · snatch
Fagin
- DickensSurname of Victorian novelist
- ShakespeareElizabethan dramatist and poet
- rogues galleryArchive of criminal photographs
Oliver Twist · Artful Dodger · Falstaff · picaresque · underworld · penny dreadful · Newgate · broadsides · gallows · morality tale
cutpursesconstables
Low-ranking peace officers
watchmen · thief-takers · bailiffs · guards · police
cutpursesbenefactors
Givers of aid
philanthropists · almsgivers · patrons · Good Samaritans · tradesmen
cutpursesburglars
Those who illegally enter
muggers · highwaymen · footpads · housebreakers · robbers