Definition of lurkman in English:
lurkman
nounPlural lurkmen ˈləːkmən
Australian dated A person who defrauds or deceives people; a conman.
down below was a wretched herd of thieves, pickpockets, and lurkmen
Example sentencesExamples
- You had to be there where it was, so we became lurkmen.
- He was a wizened, cackling, brandy-begging lurk-man living on the fringes of a settlement
- He was a terrific fixer, showing the Australian lurk-man's perennial talent for hitching a ride into the forbidden zone.
- The lurkman should not take heart: the stuff will be changed back at the tourist rate when you leave the country.
- Young men searching for the opportunity, lurkmen if you like, hanging around in cities, in the coffee shops of smart hotels, watching and waiting for the main chance.
- An unemployed 'lurkman' commented about his call-up
- Bernard keeps up a steady barrage of personality-assassination against his ex-lover, an alcoholic ex-Army lurk-man.
- I saw a group of four big lurkmen—I've noticed them in the background at Randwick or Rosehill when Bill was in for the kill on some racer.
- He was inclined to be uneasy and suspicious on the same principle that thieves, lurkmen, and gangsters have the most locks and alarms on their doors.
- Like Milo he was something of a lurkman, but he had the additional quality of humour.
Origin
1940s: from lurk in the noun sense 'a profitable stratagem'.