lorry

fall off a lorry

Of goods or merchandise, to be acquired by illegal or dubious means; to come into (someone's) possession without being paid for. "Lorry" is a chiefly British term for a truck. Primarily heard in UK. Danny says he has several laptops and phones he wants to sell for cheap—sounds like they fell off a lorry to me.
See also: fall, lorry, off

fall off the back of a lorry

Of goods or merchandise, to be acquired by illegal or dubious means; to come into (someone's) possession without being paid for. Primarily heard in UK. Danny says he has several laptops and smartphones he wants to sell for cheap—sounds like they fell off the back of a lorry to me.
See also: back, fall, lorry, of, off

off the back of a lorry

Likely by illegal or dubious means. Said of the way something has been gotten. The American equivalent is "off the back of a truck." Primarily heard in UK. A: "Jake's been peddling a bunch of flat screens for a great price." A: "He probably got them off the back of a lorry. I wouldn't go for them, if I were you." Danny says he has several laptops and smartphones he wants to sell for cheap—sounds like they fell off the back of a lorry to me.
See also: back, lorry, of, off
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

fall off the back of a lorry

BRITISH, INFORMAL
If you say that goods have fallen off the back of a lorry, you mean that they are stolen goods. We bought some really excellent wine from a woman who clearly caught the bottles as they fell off the back of a lorry. Note: You can also say that you got or bought something off the back of a lorry. Pete once bought the boys a bicycle cheap off the back of a lorry.
See also: back, fall, lorry, of, off
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

fall off (the back of) a lorry

(of goods) be acquired in illegal or unspecified circumstances.
The traditional bogus excuse given to the police by someone caught in possession of stolen goods was that the items in question had ‘fallen off the back of a lorry’.
1991 Time Out People buy so much stolen stuff that…you can…buy a video in Dixons and take it round the corner to a pub, say it fell off the back of a lorry and get 50 quid more than it cost you.
See also: fall, lorry, off
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

off the ˌback of a ˈlorry

(British English, informal, humorous) goods that fell off the back of a lorry were probably stolen. People say or accept that they came ‘off the back of a lorry’ to avoid saying or asking where they really came from: Where did you get a new DVD player at a price like that? Off the back of a lorry?
See also: back, lorry, of, off
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • fall off a lorry
  • fall off the back of a lorry
  • fall off the back of a truck
  • fall off a truck
  • off the back of a lorry
  • off the back of a truck
  • take back
  • take one back
  • make a fast buck
  • make a quick buck
References in periodicals archive
'Through information from concerned members of the public, the lorry was seized along the Likia-Egerton road at 5 am by the KFS," a statement said.
Precious wood seized, illegal logging widespread
Our driver was right on his lane but the lorry veered off the road and ended up crushing our staff bus.
Two die, several hurt as lorry hits Buzeki bus at Bonje in Kilifi
"At around 2.49am today (Friday, 28 September) we started to receive 999 calls reporting a lorry on fire between junction 15 and 16, Henley-in-Arden and Warwick.
Lorry driver dies in M-way horror
The fire service also sent one crew from Wrexham and the environmental pollution unit to clear diesel which had leaked from the lorry after it crashed.
LORRYLOAD OF LIVE CHICKENS OVERTURNS
Northumbria Police said they were called to help move the lorry which was cleared by 7.55am.
Delivery lorry gets stuck in a tight spot
The lorry and trailer were next to each other on the road, and a cage containing items in boxes appeared to be still attached to the lorry.
Commuters hit by delays after lorry loses load near busy roundabout
Acting on Alfie's tip-off, the team opened the lorry's mixed load and found the group of would-be illegal immigrants hiding inside.
BOY AMONG ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN LORRY; Stowaway group found in vehicle destined for Newcastle
"A lot of people were very concerned being near a lorry with that much fuel in it.
Traffic chaos after lorry fire
After dismounting the cab of the lorry at the depot of Denby Transport on the outskirts of Lincoln its chairman told a waiting police officer: "A new experience every day, that's my motto in life".
MONSTER LORRY; Haulier banned from using mega truck
The Escort was pushed under a lorry standing in front of it and 'almost totally destroyed' prosecutor Simon Stirling told the jury of seven women and five men.
Death-crash haulier may have been asleep
The lorry driver, who lost control of his vehicle and hit part of the bridge, managed to scramble from his cab to safety from the lorry which ended up hanging over the edge of the bridge.
SHEEP LORRY SPILL CAUSES HAVOC; Carcasses fall from motorway bridge
The officers involved are ranked grades 19 to 32 and are believed to have accepted between RM10,000 each month from lorry companies as inducement not to take action against lorry drivers that flout traffic regulations such as driving overweight lorries.
MACC to charge nine RTD and SPAD officers with graft over Penang 'protection' racket
The matatu was involved in an accident with a lorry in which three people were killed and six others seriously injured.
Matatu driver says no passenger killed in crash
figure By MAGDALENE WANJA Four people among them two prison warders have died in a grisly road crash at the Eveready junction along the Nakuru-Eldoret highway.The crash involved four vehicles ndash a prisons lorry, a fuel tanker, a matatu and a truck ndash and left more than 20 people with serious injuries.
Four die, 20 injured in multiple road crash in Nakuru
My opinion for what it is worth is that 100, 200, 300 or even 500 lorries driving along our roads with one driver, we won't need that many lorry drivers anymore.
Dangers of the driverless lorries; LETTERS