BAWDY-BASKETS,
a sort of diminutive Pedlars, who sell Obscene Books, Pins, Tape, &c. but live more by pilfering and stealing.
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Entry taken from 1736 Canting Dictionary, by Nathan Bailey.
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The Vulgar Tongue originally collected by Grose, 1811.
Also see examples in Canting Songs and Slang Rhymes collected by John S. Farmer (1896).