MISDEMEANOR, n.
An infraction of the law having less dignity than a felony and constituting no claim to admittance into the best criminal society.
By misdemeanors he essays to climb Into the aristocracy of crime. O, woe was him!--with manner chill and grand "Captains of industry" refused his hand, "Kings of finance" denied him recognition And "railway magnates" jeered his low condition. He robbed a bank to make himself respected. They still rebuffed him, for he was detected.
S.V. Hanipur
--Ambrose Bierce - The Devil's Dictionary