why?

infangthief comes from OE. infangenþéof, which gives some credence to the theof spelling, but more to the point, I challenge you to say infangtheof so that it seems different to the "real" word.

p.s. - what's the other one? it looks like the whole first line is real..

p.p.s. - this whole thing is going to require some latitude and not a few salt grains. ferinstance, swoopstake is given as an obsolete form of sweepstake.