on the crook

English

Prepositional phrase

on the crook

1. (UK, obsolete, slang) In a crooked or dishonest manner.

   Synonym: on the cross

   • 1899, The London Corn Circular (volume 56, page 2)

     Martin said at first that he bought the flour of a miller […] He next stated that it was an example, which he would not have pay to for^[sic], and subsequently he confessed that he got it "on the crook."

References

• John Camden Hotten (1873) The Slang Dictionary