mooncusser
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
moon + cusser: the strategy would not work on a moonlit night, so the would-be pirate might be expected to curse the Moon.
Noun[edit]
mooncusser (plural mooncussers)
- (uncommon, historical, humorous) A land-based pirate who, on dark nights along dangerous coasts, would demolish any legitimate lighthouses or beacons, erect a decoy signal fire in a different, deliberately misleading location, and then, after having induced a shipwreck, subdue any survivors and plunder the wreckage for valuables.