flimflam
2
9.9
- noun
- /ˈflɪmˌflæm/
- Archaic
:
estafa
- Barnum, that god of flimflam flummery, scam, and sham who once I thought might save me, was stomping around the country now with his living colossus, Jumbo.
- flimflam artist
Examples
-
The flimflam.
-
The trouble is that it is easily abused by charlatans, flimflam men, and tricksters of all kinds.
Blog text (23) -
Oh, he was good at the flimflam.
Blog text (25) -
Could be a flimflam artist capable of cutting a shady deal.
Fiction book (1992) -
But the booths in the tax shelter bazaar are no longer occupied solely by flimflam artists.
Academic text (2003) -
A primary breeding ground for fraud because of increased opportunities for market-savvy flimflam artists to take advantage of relatively unsophisticated borrowers.
Academic text (2007) -
The James Randi Educational Foundation also has a great exposé on the sort of flimflam that people get duped into believing.
Blog text (14) -
He's a Triple-A grade bullshitter, a shyster, a con man, a flimflam man, a sociopath, and a bigot.
Blog text (28) -
The salesman used a flimflam to convince her to buy a fake product.
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Many people fell for the flimflam that promised easy money from gambling.
Synonyms
294
3.0
A dishonest plan to get money by tricking people
107
7.2
A dishonest trick to get someone's money or things
67
6.3
A hidden trick to catch or cheat people often run by police
16
8.0
A dishonest plan to trick people and take their money
6
6.6
A dishonest trick that cheats people out of their money
2
8.9
A dishonest trick that gains someone's trust to steal their money
1
9.9
A trick done to cheat or fool people
1
6.6
A dishonest plan to gain someone's trust and then take their money or things
A dishonest scheme that tricks people into giving money, often by selling worthless goods
A trick that cheats people out of money by gambling or selling worthless things
A trick that cheats people out of their money, often by selling fake property
Antonyms
How Deceptive
Surface Forms
Etymology
Flimflam is made of two quick, silly sounds, flim + flam, that people long ago used for small tricks and cheats. That's why a flimflam is a 'swindle' that takes someone's money.