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Glite Dictionary
easy mark

easy mark

11 7.1
A person others can easily trick or cheat
  • noun
  • Offensive
: presa fácil
  • He was an easy mark.
  • look like an easy mark
  • just an easy mark
  • makes him an easy mark

This might explain why EA was such an easy mark for crypto.

Examples

  • You are an easy mark for them!

    Blog text (17)

  • We were easy marks for you, weren't we?

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Okay, so maybe he just thought you were an easy mark.

    Lady Bloodfight (2016)

  • Little dude like you, be an easy mark.

    Big Stan (2007)

  • "Do I look like an easy mark?" he says.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • The middle class has always been an easy mark.

    Academic text (2008)

  • The boy was an easy mark.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • If I were the bad guys, those people would be easy marks.

    Blog text (6)

  • Make yourself an easy mark, and thieves will go after you first.

    Blog text (31)

  • Clever crooks often target people who appear to be an easy mark.

Synonyms

sucker
vseasy mark
  • Offensive
246 7.0

A person who is easily tricked

is the wider phrase for anyone easily deceived or exploited
mark
vseasy mark
  • Offensive
49 8.8

A person who is easily tricked or cheated

is the broader label for anyone easily deceived or taken advantage of
lamb
vseasy mark
46 5.6

A person who is gentle, innocent, or easily tricked

is about being deceived, not the gentle or innocent character
easy target
vseasy mark
41 3.5

A person or thing people attack and take advantage of because it is weak

is about being deceived rather than general vulnerability to attack
sitting duck
vseasy mark
  • Informal
33 6.8

Something that others can harm or take advantage of

is focused on being deceived rather than being openly unprotected
dupe
vseasy mark
  • Offensive
13 7.0

A person who is easily tricked into believing false things

is the general term for anyone easily deceived or taken advantage of
mug
vseasy mark
  • Offensive
9 8.2

A person who is easily tricked or cheated

is the standard label for anyone easily deceived or taken advantage of
soft touch
vseasy mark
  • Offensive
1 7.0

A person who easily agrees and can be taken advantage of

is about being deceived rather than just yielding to requests
Uncle Sucker
vseasy mark
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A person who trusts others and falls for tricks easily

is the broader label for anyone easily deceived or exploited
gudge
vseasy mark
  • Offensive
1 9.9

An old word for a person who is easily tricked

is the modern term for someone easily deceived rather than the old word

Antonyms

sophisticated
110 6.7

A person who has wide experience of the world and good social manners

How Gullible

easy mark
  • Offensive
11 7.1
gullible
56 4.2
naive
264 4.1
cautious
206 2.9
skeptic
  • US
149 4.1

Surface Forms

easy mark singular
easy marks plural

Morphology

easy + mark

The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'easy' (vulnerable, readily affected) with 'mark' (a target or victim): an 'easy mark' is simply a person who is an easy target to deceive. This adjective + noun composition follows ordinary English modification patterns and is predictable for learners who know both constituent senses, so it is transparent.

Etymology

Easy mark comes from thieves or scammers who picked a mark, a person they saw as a 'target', because the person looked easy to trick. So, easy mark now means someone who is easily deceived.