It's a steal

Wordsmith / FRANK KRISHNER

“Please explain the difference between robbing, stealing, and burglary,” says Chandan Kumar from Kurji. “What does live by one’s wits mean?” asks Akansha in her e-mail. “Recently I came across the word “filch”, is it the same as pilfer?” wonders Kumar Gaurav from BS College, Danapur.

Steal is to take something that belongs to somebody else without permission and without is knowledge. If you take another person’s property illegally or without right or permission in a secret manner, you are stealing. While my brother was busy playing video games, I stole his share of cake. The act of stealing something is also known as theft. A thief is someone who steals things, usually secretly and without violence.

Pinch and nick are informal words that mean steal. Manoj was caught pinching money from his mother’s purse. Those jeans he’s wearing are far too expensive, I wonder if he nicked them!

Pilfer is to steal small amounts of anything in a way that it wouldn’t be noticed. In India, small boys can be seen pilfering coal from goods trains. I know that my servant pilfers sugar and ghee, but he’s very poor and I haven’t the heart to punish him.

Burgle means to illegally enter a house or office and steal things. The other day, a man was caught burgling the house of a police officer! We returned from holiday to find our apartment had been burgled. [Americans use the word ‘burglarized’].

Shoplift is when you take things from shops without paying for them, especially by hiding them in your clothes or in a bag. A person who shoplifts is a shoplifter.

To rob is to take money or property from a house, bank, shop, or other place by using threats or violence. Two men entered the train and robbed it at gunpoint. The gang robbed the Central bank yesterday, escaping with over a million rupees. To mug [usually used in the passive voice] is to violently attack someone in the street and rob them. Since she was mugged, Sunita has been scared to go out on her own. The number of muggings in our area has doubled since last year. A hold-up is when someone goes to a bank or shop with a gun and demands money.

Learn-a-word

Live by your wits
To exist by taking advantage of any opportunity you have. Kids thrown on the streets with no family to support them have to live by their wits.
Manage by clever expedience rather than hard work or wealth. People who ‘live by their wits’ use any means available to survive. Deepak's never held a steady job but manages to live by his wits.

wordscore: unscramble these words [they all have something in common]

AORCT WRERIT PRERFOERM ECDIRTOR

[Last week’s solution: Salary, Wages, Income, Profit]

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