Fingersmith (slang)

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Fingersmith or finger-smith is slang for a midwife or pickpocket. [1]

Used in a 1977 short story, "The Hitchhiker" by Roald Dahl and as the title of Sarah Waters's 2002 novel: "Fingersmith".

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References

  1. Oxford English Dictionary 2nd ed. Use for midwife recorded in 1814, and pickpocket in 1884