A Brief History of the Secret Service
“The detection of crime, when entered upon with an honest purpose to discover the haunts of criminals and protect society from their depredations by bringing them to justice, is held to be an honorable calling and worthy of commendation of all good men.”
– Hiram C. Whitley, Chief of the Secret Service, May 1869 – September 1874
Welcome to my series of blog posts revisiting my research on the Secret Service for my Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age series. For the next few months, I’ll be posting about their history. At the end of each post, I’ll include my resources and links to the other posts. As each post goes live, the links will be updated.
Part 8: Secret Service Dictionary
SECRET SERVICE DICTIONARY
*this a mixture of my definitions and those acquired through the glossary of first-hand collections of operative experiences
Acknowledge the corn – to make a full frank confession
Big gun – a prominent man, a noted person, or a leader
Big thing – a very good prospect; a promising scheme
Blowed – exposed, peached on, betrayed, turned up
Bogus – counterfeit banknotes, or false coins of any kind
Boodle – notes bought from a production firm
Boodle carrier – a courier who delivered counterfeit notes from the dealer to the shovers.
Brass – self-confidence, bold impudence, “cheeky” assurance
Caught napping – detected or surprised unawares
Chief Operative – first-class men assigned to the division’s major districts, each chief operative would have assistant operatives working under his direction, and would be responsible for all administrative and investigative activities within his district
Clean out – to rob, take from forcibly, or to search the person
Coney – counterfeit notes, of any denomination
Coney man – one known as a banknote counterfeiter
Coney dealer – one who deals in, passes, or handles counterfeits
Confidence (con) man – a charlatan, cheat, or imposter
Cop, or copper – a U.S. Detective or Police officer
Copped – arrested or secured by a “cop” or detective
Cue – a sign or signal adopted between two persons
Dead open-and-shut – a pretty sure thing; a clear fact
Dead to rights – caught with positive proof of guilt
Deal – an act of delivering counterfeits from one hand to another
Dealers – people who bought the counterfeit notes from wholesalers and then used shovers to distribute the money into general circulation
Decoy – a disguised person, used to ensnare criminals
Distribution – the spread of counterfeit money through an underground sales network
Dodge – a quick, artful trick, device, or manipulation
Driven to cover – compelled to seek seclusion for a time
Engraver – the person who created the plates used to print money
Fence – a buyer or receiver of known stolen goods
Fiasco – a dead failure, a total miscarriage
Firm – the collective group of people used to print money
Flush – having plenty of money or business on hand
Game – a sharp trick, or a device with a sinister design
Go-between – a person communicating as a medium between criminals
Going in – thrusting one’s self into a “free fight”
Going back on him – turning traitor on one’s accomplices
Hang Fire – to delay, postpone, or procrastinate
Hoisted with his own petard – caught in one’s self-laid trap
In durance – in confinement; in custody of a jailor
In quod – in prison; committed, permanently
In the hock – in the act of commission; on the spot
In the ring – in a clique or clan of conspirators for evil
In the toils – within the secret control of an officer
Issue – an edition of a set of counterfeit bills
Job – a plot in crime, or the attempt to unravel one
Keep your eye peeled – to be wide awake, constantly
Koniacker – a counterfeiter or coney man
Leg-bail – to escape or run away from court or prison
Little game – the ruse, object, or design of criminals
Limbo – a prison, “in limbo” – confined in jail
Manufacturer – a person or group of people who printed counterfeit money
Nabbed in the hock – caught in the very act
Network – the sum of one’s personal acquaintances (which includes non-criminals).
Notes – another term for paper money
Operative – the official title of the Service’s employees
Pal – an accomplice, friend, or partner in crime
Peddler – an itinerant counterfeit money-seller
Piped down – followed; shadowed; run down by detectives
Pipe off – to follow or dog a suspected person’s tracks
Plant – a term used to reference where counterfeiters made their money, or to conceal or bury; also, a planned swindle
Plates – metal pieces with copied images from the bill being counterfeited
Play baby – to whine; “squawk,” or assume innocence
Posted – well-informed of what is publicly transpiring
Prison-bird – a criminal who has once been in prison
Product – another name used for counterfeit money, generally used by the counterfeiters
Production Firm – the collective group of people used to print money
Pull – to catch, arrest, collar, or seize a criminal
Pulled — caught or arrested by a detective or officer
Put ’em through – subjecting persons to a thorough searching ordeal
Putty won’t stick – any attempted deceit that miscarries
Pumping – extracting information by nice questioning
Queer – another term for counterfeit money
Quod – a lock-up or prison, a place of detention
Retailer – another term for a dealer
Ring – a band of “speculators” or a criminal clique
Roping-in – bringing about a “deal” between “informers” and criminals
Roped in – a criminal who is “hoisted by his own petard”
Rough customer – an unmanageable or pugnacious prisoner
Run into the ground – overdone; carried to useless extremity
Ruse – artifice or stratagem; a shrewd counter-plot
Settle one’s hash – to finish a man; close his business, used up
Shadowed – followed stealthily; dogged by a detective
Shake, out to – “shake down,” to extort money from individuals
Sham Abraham – to play ill; to pretend to be sick
Shove – to push off, or pass counterfeit money publicly
Shover – a person who buys low-priced items with a higher counterfeit bill to get real money back in change
Spotted – sighted and watched, under surveillance
Spring the trap – to finish up the contemplated arrest of anyone
Squeal – to turn on an accomplice; to inform, or “peach” on a pal
Stock – counterfeit notes, bonds, bank bills, or scrip
Straw bail – a situation in which a false bondsman was contracted to swear they possessed sufficient property to pay the bond, and then the counterfeiter would subsequently fail to appear in court
Stuff – the term used among counterfeiters for bogus money
Went through him – searched him thoroughly–or similarly, robbed him
Wholesalers – men or women who would buy counterfeit notes from manufacturers and then recruit potential customers through personal contacts or the mail to create a sales network
Worked – an undertaking or “job” maneuvered by detectives
Worked back – finding stolen property, and “going” for the reward
Working up – following up on a suspected person or criminal job
Check out the Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age Series
Can these four Secret Service Operatives catch the counterfeiters … without losing their hearts?
A Gilded Age Secret Service historical romance series, with mystery and suspense
Resources
While I’m not going to list all the resources I used in research for this story, I will leave you with a few of my favorites in case you want to research further.
Books
Illegal Tender by David R Johnson* (My personal favorite. It gives you a look at counterfeiters AND the Secret Service.)
The United States Secret Service by Walter S. Bowen and Harry Edward Neal
Freedom’s Detective: The Secret Service, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Man Who Masterminded America’s First War on Terror by Charles Lane
True Detective Stories by Andrew L. Drummond (Digital)
Digital Resources
ABOUT CRYSTAL CAUDILL
Crystal Caudill is the author of “dangerously good historical romance.” Her debut novel, Counterfeit Love, was a 2023 Carol Award finalist, and her novella, “Star of Wonder,” won the 2024 Christy Award for short form. She loves history, hot tea, all things bookish, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. She is a stay-at-home mom, caregiver, and chaos organizer. When she isn’t writing, Crystal can be found hanging with her family and playing board games at her home outside Cincinnati, Ohio. Find out more at crystalcaudill.com.
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A Question for You:
My favorite fact today was what all the words meant especially shover