COVE,
a Man, a Fellow; also a Rogue. The Cove was Bit; The Rogue was out-sharped or out-witted. The Cove has bit the Cole; The Rogue has stollen the Money. That Cove's a rum Diver; That Fellow is a clever Pick-pocket.
Cove in the 1811 Vulgar Tongue
Also see examples in Canting Songs and Slang Rhymes collected by John S. Farmer (1896).