Pinkertonadj.n.
/ˈpɪŋkət(ə)n/, U.S. /ˈpɪŋkərt(ə)n/ A. adj. (attributive).
Of, relating to, or denoting a detective, esp. an officer or member of the detective agency formed by Allan Pinkerton in 1850. Esp. in Pinkerton detective, Pinkerton man.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > secret observation, spying > procedures used in spying > [adjective] > relating to private detection
Pinkerton1874
Pinkertonian1886
Holmesian1929
private eye1946
Sherlock Holmesian1958
Sherlockian1959
1874 Inter Ocean (Chicago) 24 Mar. 8/3 It is known that the Pinkerton men, backed by the employes of the Iron Mountain Railway,..are still in the field.
1875 Sedalia Daily Democrat 4 Apr. 1/7 Three detectives, supposed to be of the Pinkerton gang.
1887 Courier-Jrnl. 21 Jan. 2/5 Thomas Hogan..was shot and killed by one of the Pinkerton men.
1915 A. Conan Doyle Valley of Fear ii. vi. 278 At this very moment there is a Pinkerton detective, one Birdy Edwards, at work in the valley.
1955 D. W. Maurer in Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. No. 24. 38 One..pickpocket, so popular that when he killed a Pinkerton detective more than a hundred thieves..poured in to testify successfully in his defense.
1973 L. Hellman Pentimento (1974) 177 Hammett..didn't much like to be around people who took dope, in his Pinkerton days he had been more afraid of them than of murderers.
1989 T. M. Albert Tales Ulster Detective 32 The two ‘Pinkerton’ men arrived at the box-office to be greeted by the owner.
B. n.
A (usually armed) private detective, esp. an officer or member of the detective agency formed by Allan Pinkerton.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > secret observation, spying > procedures used in spying > [noun] > private detection > person engaged in
private detective1857
eye1874
Pinkerton1877
ferret1891
consultant1894
private investigator1894
Sherlock Holmes1896
operative1901
Sherlock1903
Sherlockian1903
Pink1904
peeper1908
private dick1912
op1924
shamus1925
private eye1938
PI1953
peep1974
1877 Inter Ocean (Chicago) 14 May 8/1 Edwin Bolles, who is wanted..for the forgery of a large number of railroad tickets last fall, was recently arrested by the Pinkertons in Baltimore.
1884 G. W. Peck Peck's Boss Bk. 72 I am no Pinkerton.
1892 Daily News 16 Aug. 5/2 We have seen what evil may come from the employment of Pinkertons and similar arguments for law and order.
1915 A. Conan Doyle Valley of Fear ii. vi. 274 ‘The police?’ ‘Well, a Pinkerton.’
1955 D. W. Maurer in Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. No. 24. 33 I'd say that better than fifty per cent of Pinkertons are ex-cons.
1967 N. Mailer Cannibals & Christians i. 22 There were tough dull Pinkertons with a tendency to lean on a new visitor.
a1971 G. Jackson Blood in my Eye (1972) 188 Every time I hear the word ‘law’ I visualize gangs of militiamen or Pinkertons busting strikes.
1990 M. Rowe So Very Eng. (BNC) 272 Originally the Pinkertons were detectives but they became known for spying on union organizers and breaking strikes by violent means.
Derivatives
Pinkerˈtonian adj. of, relating to, or characteristic of Allan Pinkerton or his detective force.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > secret observation, spying > procedures used in spying > [adjective] > relating to private detection
Pinkerton1874
Pinkertonian1886
Holmesian1929
private eye1946
Sherlock Holmesian1958
Sherlockian1959
1886 N.Y. Times 14 Feb. 3/1 Testimony with a Pinkertonian flavor to it..was gained from George W. Alter.
1908 Athenæum 11 Apr. 442/2 While an article in the ensuing number entitled ‘The Art of Advertising Made Easy’, in which Colburn's Pinkertonian methods are held up to ridicule, is shown to be Hood's.
1999 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 31 May a13/6 The brokers' motto is the Pinkertonian ‘We Never Sleep’.
ˈPinkertonism n. the use of Pinkertons or private policemen.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > secret observation, spying > procedures used in spying > [noun] > private detection > person engaged in > employment of
Pinkertonism1888
1888 Hornellsville (N.Y.) Weekly Tribune 14 Sept. There were two propositions confronting the citizens of Indianapolis: one of arbitration, conciliation..; the other that of intolerance, Pinkertonism, troops, coercion.
1948 Pacific N.W. Q. Oct. 295 Washington Populists..adopted a state platform..which..demanded..the prohibition of ‘Pinkertonism’.
1981 Rev. in Amer. Hist. 9 271 When government monitoring is curtailed, private sector intelligence seems..to expand to fill the void. He [sc. F. J. Donner] explores this phenomenon from early Pinkertonism to the Church League of America.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1874