What does cully mean?
'Cully' is an archaic English term for a fool or dupe — someone who is easily deceived, especially by swindlers, gamblers, or confidence tricksters. Emerging in seventeenth-century England, it belonged largely to the vocabulary of the criminal underworld, where cheats used it among themselves to describe the gullible victims they targeted. A 'rich cully' walking into a gaming house was, by definition, easy prey. Though the word has faded from everyday speech, it survives in historical novels, period dramas, and accounts of Georgian and Victorian low life, giving modern readers a vivid window into the language of old-time con artists. Its connotation is contemptuous yet sometimes tinged with wry affection, suggesting harmless foolishness rather than wickedness. For anyone interested in the history of slang or the colorful argot of swindlers, 'cully' is a small but memorable piece of linguistic heritage that captures how criminals once talked about the people they fleeced.
nounA dupe; a foolish, easily deceived person, especially one who is cheated or swindled.
- A foolish or credulous person who is readily deceived or cheated (dated slang).
"The card sharp sized up the wealthy young man at the next table as an easy cully."
"Every gambling den had its share of rich cullies willing to lose a fortune on a bad hand."
""Don't be such a cully," she warned him, "that salesman can smell naivety a mile away.""
The plural follows standard English formation.
"The fairground attracted cullies from every corner of the county."
This 17th-century underworld insult outlived its con men — 'cully' was the word London's cheats used for their marks, and it still means a born sucker today.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cully
'Cully' arose in England in the early seventeenth century as part of the canting slang of rogues and vagabonds, first appearing in contemporary dictionaries of underworld jargon such as Thomas Harman's tradition of rogue literature and later glossaries. Its ultimate origin is disputed: some scholars connect it to 'cull', another term of cant meaning a dupe or victim, while other suggested derivations remain speculative. The word flourished through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries before falling into obsolescence.
How cully is actually used
'Cully' is archaic and now found mainly in historical fiction, period drama, or discussions of criminal cant. It carries a contemptuous but often faintly affectionate tone, implying gullibility rather than malice. The related verb sense — to trick or cheat someone — is equally dated.
Easily confused with cully
A 'cull' is something selected for removal or rejection (or, in slang, a victim), whereas 'cully' specifically denotes a foolish person who is easily cheated.