ticket tout

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
tout /taʊt/

▶verb

• 1 attempt to sell (something), typically by a direct or persistent approach.

  ■ Brit. sell (a ticket) for a popular event at a price higher than the official one.

• 2 attempt to persuade people of the merits of.

• 3 N. Amer. offer racing tips for a share of any resulting winnings.

• 4 chiefly Brit. spy out the movements and condition of (a racehorse in training) to gain information for use when betting.

▶noun

• 1 (also ticket tout) Brit. a person who buys up tickets for an event to resell them at a profit.

• 2 a person who touts.

• 3 Irish & Scottish informal an informer.

– derivatives
touter noun.

– origin ME tute ‘look out’, of Gmc origin.