SNEAKING, EXETER, 1842.

 In The Western Times of 12th February 1842 is found the following brief notice to the citizens of Exeter:

"SNEAKING.- The class of depredators, professionally termed "sneaks" are busy in this city.

"Mrs Chapple, of South Street, had her own and daughter's work-box sneaked off from the back parlour whilst Miss Chapple was writing at the front.  The door was inadvertantly left open."

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The origin of the verb to sneak, says  Eric Partridge, is the Old English word snicen, to creep.     Snakes and snails are also creepers, i.e. sneaks.   Here a sneak creeps into your back parlour while you are busy in your front parlour and steals from you.  We still use the term sneak-thief  but these days sneaks tend to tell tales to teachers and sneakers tend to mean footwear.