Artful dodger
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A crafty person who commits minor crimes or behaves in a rather unscrupulous manner. idiomatic
"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?"
- 2 Alternative form of artful dodger. alt-of, alternative
- 3 One who deftly evades obstacles, pursuers, inconveniences, or other difficulties.
"I was a pussyfoot, an artful dodger, sidestepping abandoned children, waifs and strays, foundlings, castaways, and junk-people."
Example
More examples"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?"
Etymology
From the nickname of a skillful young pickpocket and rascal in Oliver Twist (1838) by Charles Dickens.