chump (1875)

[Benjamin Zimmer]

chump = 'fool' (OED2 1883, HDAS 1876)

New York Times, Feb. 28, 1875, p. 10/5 [HNP Doc ID 91671044]
"Burglar Life. A Talk with One of the Fraternity."
First of all he [sc. a burglar] introduced me to a new slang word,
and, to be sure I got it correct, wrote it down for me, which being
done, it appeared thus, "chump." I was entertained with a
circumstantial account of its significance, from which I discovered
that anybody was a "chump" who did not thoroughly understand his
business. I was told, for instance, that the famous McDonald, who has
the rare distinction of "beating" the Bank of England by a forgery,
was a "chump," because he let a woman into his secrets.


--Ben Zimmer

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