“…we must beware of Suleyman Bey. Ha, we’ve cozened him! We are as good as richer by ten thousand gold pieces!”
—The Slave Princess
Howard’s heroes typically prevail in two ways: primarily they stay true to themselves and abide by their instincts; secondarily they deceive agent of whichever system they are attempting to stay outside of. In this instance, pulling this obscure word out of his literary hat is a mark of Howard’s dedication to keeping his roguish heroes just beyond the grasp of their version of the law, in this case, Suleiman Bey.
coz·en
(kŭz′ən)
v. coz·ened, coz·en·ing, coz·ens
v.tr.
1. To mislead by means of a petty trick or fraud; deceive.
2. To persuade or induce to do something by cajoling or wheedling.
3. To obtain by deceit or persuasion.
v.intr.
To act deceitfully.
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[Probably ultimately (perhaps via Middle English cosin, fraud, trickery) from Old French cosson, middleman, trader, or obsolete Italian cozzonare, to cheat (from Italian cozzone, horse-trader), both ultimately from Latin cōciō, coctiō, dealer, perhaps of Etruscan origin.]
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coz′en·er n.
