Originally, someone who gathered "black-mail," (i.e., protection money demanded of farmers and small landowners in the border counties of England and Scotland, by freebooting chiefs, in return for being left alone). Now someone who earns a living off others' mistakes.
"Were I to lose all my fortune, I could, by turning black-mailer, ensure a permanent income twice as large."
Julian Hawthorne, The laughing mill and other stories (1879).
No comments:
Post a Comment