fagin means A person who entices children into criminal activity, often teaching them how to conduct those crimes, and profits from their crimes in return for support. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 84 out of 100.
Why this word is great
FAGIN — [Noun] An adult who trains children in criminal activities and profits from their crimes. From the name of the criminal character Fagin in Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist (1838). Unlike a "mastermind," which denotes strategic command of complex operations, or a "mentor," which implies benevolent guidance, a fagin is a parasite of potential, specializing in the small-scale, systematic perversion of the young. He is the greasy hand placing a coin in a dirty palm for the first theft; the avuncular wink rewarding a successful pilfering; the false father who trades a crust of bread for a soul. It is the corruption of instruction, where lessons are theft and the only graduation is prison or the gallows.
noun
- A person who entices children into criminal activity, often teaching them how to conduct those crimes, and profits from their crimes in return for support.“The indignation of the self-respecting deaf is aroused by the fact that nine-tenths of the mendicant peddling is engineered by slick Fagins who teach inexperienced deaf youths the tricks of the trade and then collect the lion's share of the profits.”