confidence woman
- noun
- /ˈkɒnfɪdəns ˈwʊmən/
:
estafadora
- The confidence woman tricked several people out of their money by posing as a charity worker.
Examples
-
Police arrested the confidence woman after she attempted to swindle an elderly couple.
-
After gaining the trust of her clients, the confidence woman exploited their vulnerabilities to steal their savings.
-
The movie portrayed a clever confidence woman who targeted wealthy businessmen.
-
The confidence woman tricked him into giving her money.
-
Many confidence women operate in large cities.
-
The confidence woman deceived her victims by pretending to be a real estate agent.
-
In the story, the cunning confidence woman successfully manipulated her way into the lives of many unsuspecting individuals.
Synonyms
40
4.8
A person who tricks people by gaining their trust to take their money or valuables
38
8.6
A person who says they have special skills to trick people
1
7.9
A woman who tricks people into giving her money or valuable things by gaining their trust
How Deceptive
Surface Forms
Morphology
Although the components are familiar, the phrase uses 'confidence' in an agentive, idiomatic sense ('one who gains others' confidence to swindle them') rather than the straightforward idea of a woman who has confidence. A B1 learner knowing 'confidence' (trust) and 'woman' would likely not predict the swindler meaning and might instead interpret it as 'confident woman', so the expression is opaque.
Etymology
Confidence woman comes from a simple trick: a woman shows false confidence so someone will trust her, and then she cheats them. That's why confidence woman means 'a woman who deceives others to swindle them'.