bastardly gullion
- noun
- Offensive
:
canalla
- She called him a bastardly gullion after he betrayed her confidence.
Examples
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Nobody trusted the bastardly gullion in the merchant's guild.
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Tales warned children not to become a bastardly gullion lest they face social ruin.
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That man is a true bastardly gullion!
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I can't believe he acted like such a bastardly gullion.
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Everyone in the village knew he was a bastardly gullion who would cheat anyone for a quick profit.
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After stealing from his own friends, he only confirmed what they all suspected: he was a bastardly gullion.
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The bastardly gullion happily took advantage of the poor farmer's trust and left him with nothing.
Synonyms
51
6.5
A person who behaves dishonestly and hurts others by lying or stealing
40
4.8
A person who tricks people by gaining their trust to take their money or valuables
16
9.1
A person who tricks others to get their money or things
13
5.5
A person who tricks others by making them believe something not true
13
7.9
A person who tricks others to take their money or things
9
8.2
A person who is dishonest and treats others badly
1
9.9
A person who cheats people to get money
1
7.9
A person who gets money by lying to or tricking people
A person who is very dishonest and cannot be trusted
How Wicked
Surface Forms
Morphology
bastardly + gullion
Although 'bastardly' has a clear negative meaning, the noun 'gullion' is obscure/not attested in standard dictionaries and thus not interpretable by a typical B1 learner. Because the overall sense depends on knowing this rare or dialectal noun (or idiomatic usage) rather than compositional combination of transparent parts, the phrase's meaning is not derivable from its constituents.
Etymology
Bastardly gullion may come from two old images: bastardly meaning mean or low, and gullion meaning a greedy throat or trickster. Picture someone with a big, hungry mouth who cheats and takes more than their share, so the phrase means 'a deceitful, greedy, or gluttonous person'.