fight cocum
English
Etymology
Hotten (see References) suggests that cocum might be related to the Scottish keek (“peep or pry”).
Verb
fight cocum (third-person singular simple present fights cocum, present participle fighting cocum, simple past and past participle fought cocum)
- (thieves' cant, obsolete) To be wily and cautious.
- 1848, George William MacArthur Reynolds, Esther de Medina: Or, The Crimes of London (page 79)
- So Tim didn't fight cocum enough, and was grabbed.
- 1859, Snowden's magistrates assistant (page 498)
- I have got the Yacks, so do not come it. Fight cocum.
- 1848, George William MacArthur Reynolds, Esther de Medina: Or, The Crimes of London (page 79)
References
- 1873, John Camden Hotten, The Slang Dictionary