E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Plucked Pigeon (A).
One fleeced out of his money; one plucked by a rook or sharper.
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“There were no smart fellows whom fortune had troubled, … no plucked pigeons or winged rooks, no disappointed speculators, no ruined miners.”—Sir W. Scott: Peveril of the Peak, c. xi.
