carny
- adjective
- /ˈkɑrni/
- Offensive
:
sinvergüenza
- Her carny tactics made it hard to trust anything she said about the upcoming show.
Examples
-
He gave a carny glance, as if planning to swindle anyone who wasn't paying attention.
-
The carny worker quickly convinced people to spend money on games they would never win.
-
One claims that the angle was pro wrestling at its finest, a carny display from a carny form of entertainment where the lines between reality and kayfabe were blurred heavily.
Blog text (28)
Synonyms
291
4.4
Willing to act dishonestly to gain money or power
128
2.5
Likely to lie or cheat to get something for yourself
101
4.4
Acting in a secret way to avoid being noticed or to get an advantage
79
5.5
Not honest and likely to do illegal things
31
5.0
Acting in a dishonest way to make people believe something untrue
25
7.5
A person or company that is not honest and tries to take advantage of others
17
7.4
A look or behavior that seems dishonest and hard to trust
3
8.8
Clever in a dishonest way to trick people
1
7.0
Dishonest and likely to trick people for money or advantage
Not safe to depend on because they may fail or betray you
Antonyms
How Trustworthy
Surface Forms
Morphology
carny = carnival (semi-transparent) = carn + y
Formally derived from 'carnival' with truncation and -y, but the sense 'dishonest/shady' is a figurative extension from stereotypes of carnival showmen rather than a directly predictable denotative meaning.
Etymology
Carny comes from carnival, a traveling fair where people run shows and games. Because some workers there used tricks to get money, carny can also mean 'dishonest' or 'shady'.