Wrong 'un

noun, slang

noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A dishonest or disreputable person; a crook or rogue. UK, derogatory, slang

    "We might not have had that much to pinch, but they'd still have your brass candlesticks off the mantelpiece. There's always wrong 'uns, in every walk of life, who'll have whatever you've got from under your nose."

  2. 2
    a cricket ball bowled as if to break one way that actually breaks in the opposite way wordnet
  3. 3
    A googly.
  4. 4
    A horse deliberately held back in order to lose a race.

Example

More examples

"We might not have had that much to pinch, but they'd still have your brass candlesticks off the mantelpiece. There's always wrong 'uns, in every walk of life, who'll have whatever you've got from under your nose."

Etymology

From wrong + one. Compare young'un.