TO WORK UNDER THE ARMPITS, verb. phr. (old).—To escape the halter by the skin of one’s teeth: see quot. [On the passing of Sir Samuel Romilly’s Act, capital punishment was abolished for highway robberies under 40s. in value.]
1823. GROSE, Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue [EGAN], s.v. ARM-PITS. To work under the arm-pits, is to practise only such kinds of depredation, as will amount, upon conviction, to what the law terms single, or petty larceny; the extent of punishment for which is transportation for seven years. By following this system, a thief avoids the halter, which certainly is applied above the arm-pits.
