confidence trick
1
6.6
- noun
- /ˈkɒnfɪdəns trɪk/
:
estafa
- The salesman used a clever confidence trick to sell fake watches to unsuspecting tourists.
Examples
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Just look at it as being another form of confidence trick, just like pyramid selling.
Blog text (25) -
- It was all a confidence trick.
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What if alcohol brings no benefits, and the whole thing is a confidence trick?
Blog text (10) -
That case involved a manager who may have engaged in "a confidence trick."
Blog text (18) -
I think everything else is the greatest confidence trick played on vassals in history.
Blog text (19) -
Many people lose their savings to a confidence trick that promises high returns on investments.
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He fell victim to a confidence trick when he trusted someone who claimed to be an investment expert.
Synonyms
577
4.0
Deceiving someone to get money or an unfair advantage
163
3.9
An action that makes someone believe something not true
107
7.2
A dishonest trick to get someone's money or things
27
4.9
To use dishonest ways to cheat people
16
8.0
A dishonest plan to trick people and take their money
8
9.3
Tricks people use to deceive others to get money or advantage
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
2
9.9
A plan to cheat people and take their money
1
9.9
A trick that cheats people out of their money, often in gambling or fake investments
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
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound combines 'confidence' (trust) with 'trick' (deceit), so its meaning—a deception that works by gaining someone's trust—is directly derivable from the constituent meanings. This compositional pattern is straightforward and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words would most likely understand the MWE.
Etymology
The phrase confidence trick comes from the way people who cheat first win someone's confidence, which means 'trust', and then use a trick to cheat or steal from them. That's why it means 'a dishonest scheme'.