A familiar or slang abbreviation of certain words, as confidant, conundrum, conformist, contract.
1825. C. M. Westmacott, Eng. Spy, I. 30. We were soon the most inseparable cons.
1841. Fraser’s Mag., XXIII. 59. Puns, riddles, cons, etc. are low.
1882. Banner (newspr.). To what denomination the family belongs, whether they are Cons or Noncons.
1889. Pall Mall G., 24 Aug., 2/1. About the ‘contract system’ … The men get some ‘con,’ as they call it, or ‘plus’ pay, but for every penn’orth of ‘con’ the contractor gets two penn’orth of work out of them.
