Word.ws English Dictionary

turning joint

turning joint noun: a place where legitimately earned money was swindled in exchange for counterfeit currency.

Noun

turning joint (plural turning joints)

  1. (US, dated, obsolete) A place where legitimately earned money was swindled in exchange for counterfeit currency.
    • The victim is usually taken first to some saloon in the vicinity of the "turning joint," where he is given over to another crook, the "turner," who lies in wait for him.1895, Thomas Byrnes, Professional Criminals of America, page 33
    • He's got a come-on from New Jersey that I'm to steer to the turning joint.1897, Edward W. Townsend, Near A Whole City Full, page 164

Examples of turning joint in a sentence

  • ... and brought to a place where the scheme is to be operated and which is known as the "turning joint".1928, Frank Dalton O'Sullivan, Crime Detection, page 170:
  • ... those who returned and made their way to the turning joint, in order to right matters themselves, were quickly taken care of by "tailers"1957, Morris Robert Werner, It Happened in New York, page 74:
  • There they were met by a "bunco steerer" like Appo who, after an exchange of passwords, "steered" the individual to a "turning joint" in another hotel or office.2011, Timothy J. Gilfoyle, A Pickpocket's Tale: The Underworld of Nineteenth-Century New York, page 209:

Forms of turning joint

pluralturning joints

Origin of turning joint

From turning + joint. First use appears c. 1895.

Questions about turning joint

What does turning joint mean?
Turning joint means a place where legitimately earned money was swindled in exchange for counterfeit currency.
How do you use turning joint in a sentence?
... and brought to a place where the scheme is to be operated and which is known as the "turning joint".
What part of speech is turning joint?
Turning joint is a noun.
What is the plural of turning joint?
The plural of turning joint is turning joints.

Words near turning joint in the dictionary

  1. turning in on oneself
  2. turning in one's grave
  3. turning in succession
  4. turning into
  5. turning into a pumpkin
  6. turning joint
  7. turning joints
  8. turning king's evidence
  9. turning lane
  10. turning loose
  11. turning number

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: turning joint (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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