Definition
A crafty person who commits minor crimes or behaves in a rather unscrupulous manner.
Origins
From the nickname of a skillful young pickpocket and rascal in Oliver Twist (1838) by Charles Dickens.
In Context
- "Meg made many moral rules, and tried to keep them, but what mother was ever proof against the winning wiles, the ingenious evasions, or the tranquil audacity of the miniature men and women who so early show themselves accomplished Artful Dodgers?"
- "Timothy Mack has spent 13 years spiriting wallets from the pockets and purses of Los Angelenos, an artful dodger's career that has been interrupted by 20 arrests and two jail terms."
- "Perfect little con man and artful dodger, always on the make for some angle or another."
Also Said As
- rapscallion
- slyboots
- trickster