A beggar pretending that his tongue has been cutout by the Algerines, or cruel and blood-thirsty Turks, or else that he yas born deaf and dumb. Cant.
Definition taken from The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose.
Domineer * DoneNathan Bailey's 1736 Dictionary of canting and thieving slang
John S. Farmer's collection of canting songs and slang rhymes