Uncle Sham
- noun
- Offensive
:
Tío farsante
- The columnist referred to the fraudulent official as Uncle Sham in her latest article.
Examples
-
Nobody trusts Uncle Sham after that investment scandal.
-
Whenever there's a scam in politics, people start talking about Uncle Sham.
-
Beware of Uncle Sham when he comes to town!
-
Everyone knows that Uncle Sham is not to be trusted.
-
The politician's empty promises made many voters consider him Uncle Sham.
-
After the corrupt officials were exposed, the media labeled them as Uncle Sham.
-
They warned us about Uncle Sham, advising us to be cautious of his offers.
Synonyms
160
4.4
A person who pretends to be something they are not to trick others
81
6.1
Something or someone that pretends to be real but is false
50
5.1
A person who pretends to be someone else to trick people
1
9.9
A person who acts important but is not powerful or skilled
A person who tricks people into giving their money
A person who cheats others with tricks or fake deals
A person who pretends to be someone else to trick people
How Deceptive
15
5.4
- Offensive
2
8.4
- Offensive
112
2.6
1
6.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
Uncle + sham
Although the constituent 'sham' clearly signals falseness and gives a partial clue, the intended sense depends on a pun with the cultural figure 'Uncle Sam' (a national personification). A B1 learner who only knows 'uncle' and 'sham' would not reliably infer the specific meaning 'a deceptive person posing as authority', so the expression is not compositionally derivable from its parts.
Etymology
Uncle Sham may come from a play on the name Uncle Sam and the word Sham, which means 'fake'. The image is of a friendly uncle who pretends to be honest but is really 'fake', so people call someone Uncle Sham when they are dishonest and pretending to speak for the government.