Drop a Cog (Grose 1811 Dictionary)

Drop a Cog

To let fall, with design, a piece of gold or silver, in order to draw in and cheat the person who sees it picked up; the piece so dropped is called a dropt cog.

Definition taken from The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose.

See also the definition in Nathan Bailey's 1736 dictionary of canting and thieving slang.

Drop * Drop In the Eye

Nearby

Nathan Bailey's 1736 Dictionary of canting and thieving slang

John S. Farmer's collection of canting songs and slang rhymes

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About

Francis Grose was independently wealthy, having inherited money from his father, a jeweller. Finding himself overspending, he published a number of books; his Provincial Glossary seems to have been the starting-point for the Vulgar Tongue reproduced here.