verb General Slang

Lift

/lɪft/ · verb · slang

To steal — the cant verb that gave us 'shoplifting' centuries on.

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Definitions

1

As a noun, a theft or the trade of stealing — and 'the lift' was a recognised canting law (con) of its own.

“Greene wrote up 'the lifting law' as one of the great trades of the rogues.”
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2

A 'lifter' — one who practises the lift, the ancestor of the shoplifter.

“The lifter and his stall and his marker each had a part to play.”
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3

To steal; the canting verb for taking goods, especially from shops and stalls.

“He lifted three yards of silk and walked out as bold as a magistrate.”
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Lift In A Sentence

She lifted a purse and a pie in the same breath.
Mind the stalls — there's a lifter working the row.
What he couldn't beg he'd lift, and what he couldn't lift he'd leave.

Origin & Usage

Documented in Robert Greene's pamphlets, which describe 'the lifting law' as an organised trade (c.1591-92), and in later glossaries. The cant verb 'lift' is the root of the modern 'shoplift'.

Variants lifterlifting lawshoplift
Tags #thieves-cant#cant#historical#british#crime

People Also Ask

What does lift mean in thieves' cant?

To steal — the canting verb for taking goods, especially from shops, described in Greene's 1590s pamphlets as 'the lifting law'.

Is this where shoplifting comes from?

Yes — modern 'shoplift' descends directly from this old cant sense of 'lift' meaning to steal.

What was the lifting law?

An organised trade of theft in the rogues' world, worked by a team of a lifter, a stall and a marker.

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