nuthook

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun A pole with a hook at the end used to pull down boughs to bring nuts within reach.
• noun A bailiff: so called in derision, because armed with a catch-pole.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun A hook at the end of a pole to pull down boughs for gathering the nuts.
• noun A thief who steals by means of a hook; also, a bailiff who hooks or seizes malefactors.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun A hook on a pole to pull down boughs for gathering nuts.
• noun obsolete A thief who steals by means of a hook, or a bailiff who hooks or seizes malefactors.