slang. [f. CRACK sb. 6 + MAN: cf. sportsman, etc.] A housebreaker.
1812. J. H. Vaux, Flash Dict., Cracksman, a house-breaker.
1838. Dickens, O. Twist, II. 86. You’ll be a fine young cracksman.
1886. Alex. Innes Shand, in Blackw. Mag., 597/2. The skilled ‘cracksmen,’ thoroughly versed in the practical mechanics of burglary.
