Fat–cull originated in criminal and cant slang, referring to a rich victim ripe for cheating or theft. In poetry, it appears mainly in satirical or rogue literature to depict urban cunning and moral corruption. Writers used the phrase to comment on greed, deception, and social vulnerability, contrasting outward prosperity with inner foolishness. Its slangy tone lent realism and immediacy to poems concerned with city life and human vice.

Fat–cull originates in criminal slang and highlights how poets borrowed from non-elite registers to depict urban life and moral danger. Its use often implies irony: outward prosperity masking inward foolishness or vulnerability. In poetry, the term can signal predation, greed, or social blindness, especially in satirical or rogue literature. Students should attend to its evaluative stance; the speaker positions themselves as shrewder than the victim. Analysing fat–cull can open discussion about economic anxiety and class tension in early modern verse.