noun General Slang

Lightmans

/ˈlaɪtmənz/ · noun · slang

The day, in the cant — paired against darkmans on the rogue's upside-down clock.

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Definitions

1

The day or daylight; the canting word for daytime, the hours for begging, casing houses and lying low.

“Beg by lightmans, lift by darkmans — that was the order of the day.”
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2

By extension, the open exposure of daylight, when bold thieving was riskier.

“Only a fool works a purse in the full lightmans.”
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3

Used in canting dialogue and song as the natural pair to darkmans.

“From lightmans to darkmans the crew kept moving down the road.”
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Lightmans In A Sentence

The lightmans was for begging and the darkmans for the lift.
She marked the rich man's house all through the lightmans.
No rest came till lightmans, when the watch went home to sleep.

Origin & Usage

Recorded by Harman (1566) and through B.E. (1699) and Grose (1785), always paired with 'darkmans'. The '-mans' suffix is a regular cant formative rather than a literal reference to men.

Variants lightemans
Tags #thieves-cant#cant#historical#british#time

People Also Ask

What does lightmans mean in thieves' cant?

The day or daylight — the canting word for daytime, recorded by Harman (1566) and paired with 'darkmans'.

Does the -mans mean men?

No — it is a recurring cant suffix found in darkmans and ruffmans, not a reference to men.

What did rogues do by lightmans?

Daylight hours were for begging, casing targets and lying low; the bolder thieving waited for the darkmans.

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