[Ads-l] crook (1872)

[Ben Zimmer]

On Fri, Nov 17, 2023 at 8:38 PM Peter Reitan <pjreitan at hotmail.com> wrote:

> Interestingly, during the several years prior to those early uses of
> "crook", a wildly popular musical extravaganza/stage show called "The Black
> Crook" swept the country.
>
> The title character of the "Black Crook" was an old man, with a bent spine
> or humpback, who carried a crooked stick, who practiced sorcery and made a
> pact with the devil for money.  He was not a robber, as such, but did many
> bad things.
>
> The play was first produced in 1866, and played for over a year and a half
> in its first theater in New York City, and many nights in all of the big
> cities, and toured the country in various forms.  There were burlesques of
> the show, songs inspired by the show, a hat named for the show, copycat
> shows and numerous other tie-ins.
>
> The plot and acting of the play were notoriously unremarkable, but the
> show was mostly famous for importing European ballet dancers who wore short
> skirts, and for its elaborate sets, lighting and mechanical effects.
>
> Might the widespread use of the play and character's name have influenced
> the new word, "crook," in the sense of a thief or swindler?
>

That possibility had occurred to me -- especially because a production of
"The Black Crook" happened to be playing at a Chicago theater in 1872,
around the time of those early examples from the Evening Mail.


From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Ben
> Zimmer <bgzimmer at GMAIL.COM>
> Sent: Friday, November 17, 2023 2:13 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: Re: crook (1872)
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: crook (1872)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> More "crook" history in my Wall St. Journal column, timed for the 50th
> anniversary of Nixon's "I am not a crook" press conference:
> https://on.wsj.com/40FImWl
>
> On Thu, Nov 16, 2023 at 2:29=E2=80=AFAM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com>
> wro=
> te:
>
> > "Crook" in the sense 'a thief or swindler; dishonest person' is in HDAS
> > from 1877 and OED2 from 1879. Earlier uses appear in Chicago newspapers,
> > with the Evening Mail leading the way.
> >
> > ---
> >
> >
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-chicago-evening-mail-professional-=
> cr/135280702/
> <https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-chicago-evening-mail-professional-=cr/135280702/>
> > Chicago Evening Mail, Sept. 5, 1872, p. 4, col. 1
> > Twenty professional "crooks" counted between the Sherman House and
> Madiso=
> n
> > street bridge -- and it was a poor day for thieves too.
> > ---
> >
> >
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-chicago-evening-mail-roughs-crooks=
> /135280717/
> <https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-chicago-evening-mail-roughs-crooks=/135280717/>
> > Chicago Evening Mail, Sept. 9, 1872, p. 4, col. 5
> > A crowd was in attendance. composed largely of roughs, "crooks" and
> > villains, such as would naturally take an interest in the state of their
> > confrere, or rather leader, in outlawry.
> > ---
> >
> >
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-chicago-evening-mail-cracksmen-and=
> -c/135281315/
> <https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-chicago-evening-mail-cracksmen-and=-c/135281315/>
> > Chicago Evening Mail, Oct. 17, 1872, p. 4, col. 4
> > Bill Wray, one of the most notorious "cracksmen" and "crook" in the city
> > who, in the last fifteen years, has accumulated $70,000 in the
> "business,=
> "
> > appeared in the Criminal Court this morning.
> > ---
> >
> >
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-chicago-evening-mail-the-crooks-go=
> t/135280730/
> <https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-chicago-evening-mail-the-crooks-go=t/135280730/>
> > Chicago Evening Mail, Dec. 16, 1872, p. 4, col. 3
> > It is believed that the latter was the more profitable of the two, as the
> > "crooks" got away with some $500 worth of jewelry.
> > ---
> >
> > --bgz
>

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