noun
Street Slang
prat
PRAT · noun · slang
A hip or back pocket; also, to steal from one.
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Definitions
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In pickpocket cant a 'prat' is a hip or back pocket, and 'pratting' is stealing wallets from hip pockets. (British slang separately uses 'prat' for the buttocks or a fool.)
“He worked the prat on the packed streetcar, easing the leather out with two fingers.”
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As a verb, to 'prat' or go 'pratting' is to lift a wallet or valuables from a victim's hip or back pocket.
“The dip taught the boy to prat a mark without brushing his coat.”
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prat In A Sentence
He worked the prat on the packed streetcar, easing the leather out with two fingers.
The dip taught the boy to prat a mark without brushing his coat.
Origin & Usage
British thieves' cant, 16th century onward.
Variants
pratting
People Also Ask
What does 'prat' mean in thieves' cant?
It means a hip or back pocket. Pickpockets used it to name the pocket they targeted, and 'pratting' meant lifting a wallet from it.
Is 'prat' the same as the British insult?
No. British slang separately uses 'prat' for the buttocks or a fool, but in pickpocket cant it specifically means a hip or back pocket.
Where does the term come from?
It comes from British thieves' cant, used from the 16th century onward within the pickpocket underworld.
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