text: where did the word "shoplifting" come from? to quote the simpsons: "...the phrase 'shoplifting' can be traced back to ancient babylonia, when theives would actually lift up the corners of shopowner's huts to steal the sweet, sweet olives within."  is this true??? it's not like me to take advice from the simpsons, but i can't find the answer to this anywhere else! 1927 (in heister "shoplifter, thief"), amer.eng. slang, probably dialectal alt. of hoist "lift," in sense of "shoplift," also in older british slang "to lift another on one's shoulders to help him break in."