tocco
v.— «The nickname, pronounced like “taco,” is a combination of the words “took” and “hocked” and means taking something without permission—but not quite stealing. Sullivan said his father got the nickname by “toccoing” fruit from a local produce stand.» —“Same as he ever was, Justice Sullivan plans for retirement” by Matt Apuzzo in Hartford, Connecticut Boston Globe (Massachusetts) Apr. 12, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
A magnificent new book celebrates the richness and diversity of 450 years of written and spoken English in what is now the United States. It’s called The People’s Tongue, and it’s a sumptuous collection of essays, letters, poems...
Daniel Mendelsohn is a widely acclaimed author, critic, classicist, and professor at Bard College. A few years ago, when he was teaching an undergraduate seminar on The Odyssey (Bookshop|Amazon) his 81-year-old father, Jay, decided to sit in on the...