prat digger

English

Etymology

Late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

Pronunciation

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Noun

prat digger (plural prat diggers)

1. (slang) A pickpocket.
2. (slang) a petty criminal.
3. (slang) Someone who brings unpopular members of a social group to a social gathering, or seems to always have a rather obnoxious partner.

Usage notes

Originally used to mean people who steal from the hip pocket. In the early twenty-first century the term was once again picked up by people on the streets of Britain to mean any sort of petty criminal.