knuck
(nʌk)
Also occas. nuck.
[Shortening of knuckle n., knuckler.]
1. slang. A thief, a pickpocket. Cf. knuckle n. 2 c, knuckler 1. ? Obs.
| 1812 J. H. Vaux Vocab. Flash Lang. in Mem. (1819) II. 184 Knuck, knuckler, or knuckling-cove, a pickpocket, or person professed in the knuckling art. 1848 ‘N. Buntline’ Mysteries & Miseries N.Y. i. 33 There is a house in Cherry street..[that] has been known to the ‘crossmen’ and ‘knucks’ of the town as ‘Jack Circle's Watering place’ and ‘fence’. 1903 A. H. Lewis Boss 168 But knucks, dips, sneaks,..an' strong-arm men have got to quit. 1904 ‘No. 1500’ Life in Sing Sing 251/1 Nuck, a thief. 1935 A. J. Pollock Underworld Speaks 68/2 Knuck, a thief. |
2. pl. ‘A game of marbles in which the winner shoots at his adversary's knuckles’ (Clapin). U.S.
| 1840 Southern Lit. Messenger VI. 385 To the game of marbles he devotes much of his leisure time, and is counted a proficient particularly in knucks and five in the ring. a 1883 G. W. Bagby Sel. Misc. Writings (1885) II. 20 He tries to keep somebody's country store, but will close the doors whenever the weather is fine to ‘ketch chub’ or play knucks. 1886 Harper's Mag. Dec. 41/2 They were playing ‘knucks’ together. 1935 Amer. Speech X. 159/1 More on Marble Names and Games... Knucks Down. A variant of knuckle down. |
3. Shortening of knuckle-duster.
| 1897 Sears, Roebuck Catal. 593/1 Knucks, heavy nickel plated and polished. $0.30 per pair. 1918 C. Sandburg Cornhuskers 88, I slipped my fingers into a set of knucks. 1966 Wodehouse Plum Pie i. 48 To reason successfully with that king of the twisters one would need brass knucks and a stocking full of sand. 1973 D. Westheimer Going Public ix. 130 He produced a two foot length of stout nylon cord with brass knucks at either end. ‘You can hit or strangle with it..’ he explained. |