artful dodger
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artful dodger¹
Where it comes from
From the nickname of a skillful young pickpocket and rascal in Oliver Twist (1838) by Charles Dickens.
noun artful dodgers · Artful Dodger
-
A crafty person who commits minor crimes or behaves in a rather unscrupulous manner.
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?
Similar: rapscallion, slyboots, trickster
- 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.
Artful Dodger²
noun Artful Dodgers
- Alternative form of artful dodger
Talk about this word "artful dodger." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/artful%20dodger. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. artful dodger. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/artful%20dodger "artful dodger." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/artful%20dodger.Cite this
@misc{artful_dodger_2026,
title = {artful dodger},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/artful%20dodger},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
