- a rascal, swindler, or card cheat. The derivation of this term was solemnly argued before the full Court of Queen’s Bench upon a motion for a new trial for libel, but was not decided by the learned tribunal. Probably it is from the custom of sporting and turf men wearing black _top-boots_. Hence BLACKLEG came to be the phrase for a professional sporting man, and thence for a professional sporting cheat. The word is now in its worst sense diminished to “leg.”
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Position in the dictionary: 206 of 4022 slang words.Next words in the dictionary: blackwork, bladder-of-lard, blade, blarney, blast, blaze, blazes, bleed, blest, blether
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