harman-beck

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English

Alternative forms

Noun

harman-beck (plural harman-becks)

  1. (obsolete, thieves' cant) A policeman.
    • 1609, Thomas Dekker, “Lanthorne and Candle-light. Or, The Bell-man’s Second Nights-walke. The Second Edition, : Of Canting, How Long It hath beene a Language: How It Comes to bee a Language: How It is Deriued, & by whom It is Spoken. ”, in Alexander B[alloch] Grosart, editor, The Non-dramatic Works of Thomas Dekker.  (The Huth Library), volume III, London, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire: [Hazell, Watson, & Viney] for private circulation only, published 1885, →OCLC, page 203:
      The Ruffin cly the nab of the Harmanbeck,
      If we mawnd Pannam, lap, or Ruff-peck,
      Or poplars of yarum: he cuts, bing to the Ruffmans,
      Or els he ſweares by the light-mans,
      To put our ſtamps in the Harmans.
    • 1610, “The Maunderer's Wooing”, in Farmer, John Stephen, editor, Musa Pedestris, published 1896, page 8:
      But O ben Coue what if we be clyd,
      Long we cannot foist & nip at last we shall be spyed,
      If that we be spied, O then begins our woe,
      With the Harman beake out and alas,
      To Wittington we goe.
    • 1652, Richard Brome, A Jovial Crew‎, act 2:
      Here, safe in our Skipper, let's cly off our Peck,
      And bowse in defiance o' th' Harman-beck.

Synonyms

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