Meanings
nounsmatter-hauling (uncountable)
- UKobsoleteslanguncountableThe theft of handkerchiefs.
At the end of the two years and a half I got into the way of forged Bank-of-England notes. A man I knew in the course of business, said, ‘I would cut that game of ‘smatter-hauling,’ (stealing handkerchiefs), and do a little soft,’ (pass bad notes).
1851, Henry Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor, published 1861
Cite this entry
APA
smatter-hauling. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smatter-hauling
MLA
“smatter-hauling.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smatter-hauling. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “smatter-hauling,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smatter-hauling.
Source: smatter-hauling on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.