ppl. adj. (colloquial).—Disappointing; the reverse of STRAIGHT (q.v.); pertaining to the habits, ways, and customs of thieves.—See ON THE CROOK. So also, mutatis mutandis, CROOKEDNESS = rascality of every kind.
1837. The Comic Almanack, p. 94. Things have gone very CROOKED.
1877. W. H. THOMSON, Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ii. 126. The prisoner’s friend was also a ‘fly’ man, and he immediately saw how he could thoroughly pay on the ‘CROCKED’ officer.
1884. Daily Telegraph, 22 Jan., p. 3, col. 1. My time was up the same day as that of two lads of the CROOKED school; it was through them that I took to thieving.
1884. Echo, 28 Jan., p. 4, col. 1. Last season will be long remembered in the racing world for the CROOKEDNESS of some owners.
1888. Detroit Free Press, 3 Nov. ‘What are you trying to get out of me?’ ‘I am going to see that to-night you are better lodged to begin with. I may decide to do more, but that will depend pretty much on yourself.’ ‘Nothing CROOKED, is it?’ asked the other, suspiciously!
CROOKED AS A VIRGINIA (or SNAKE) FENCE, phr. (American).—Uneven; zig-zag; said of matters or persons difficult to keep ‘straight.’ TO MAKE A VIRGINIA FENCE is to walk unsteadily, as a drunkard. The Virginia fences zigzag with the soil.
