BULLY-RUFFINS,
Highway-men, or Foot Pads, who attack with Oaths and Curses, plunder without Mercy, and frequently murder without Necessity.
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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).