In the Victorian vernacular, a gentleman thief or lady thief (called phantom thief in the East) is a particularly well-behaving and apparently well bred thief. A "gentleman or lady" is usually, but not always, a person with an inherited title of nobility and inherited wealth, who need not work for a living. Such a person steals not in order to gain material wealth, but for adventure; they act without malice. These thieves rarely bother with anonymity or force, preferring to rely on their charisma, physical attractiveness, and clever misdirection to steal the most unobtainable objects — sometimes for their own support, but mostly for the thrill of the act itself.
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Famous quotes containing the words gentleman and/or thief:
“For I must have my lovely lady soon,
I am a gentleman in a dustcoat trying.”
—John Crowe Ransom (18881974)
“Scarlett OHara: Oh, oh, Rhett. For the first time Im finding out what it is to be sorry for something Ive done.
Rhett Butler: Dry your eyes. If you had it all to do over again, youd do no differently. Youre like the thief who isnt the least bit sorry he stole, but hes terribly, terribly sorry hes going to jail.”
—Sidney Howard (18911939)