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crooked dealing

crooked dealing

1 6.3
Dishonest behavior in business or money matters
  • noun
  • /ˈkrʊkɪd ˈdiːlɪŋ/
translation icon : trato deshonesto
  • Bingham himself was a disappointed politician, denied election to the Missouri statehouse in 1846 by crooked dealing.

Examples

  • Well, I know about politics, and I know all about the crooked deals you bragged about.

  • Norton's crooked dealing allows them to clean out a bunch of rich kids in a college game.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Many businesses fail due to crooked dealing and unethical practices within their leadership.

  • The investigation revealed a pattern of crooked dealing among those managing the company's finances.

  • He lost all his money because of the crooked dealing that occurred during the real estate transaction.

Synonyms

fraud
vscrooked dealing
577 4.0

Deceiving someone to get money or an unfair advantage

is broader and includes unethical acts that may not be crimes
corruption
vscrooked dealing
355 4.8

Dishonest or illegal actions by people in power, like taking bribes

is a wider label for dishonest business or financial behaviour without power focus
collusion
vscrooked dealing
205 8.4

Secret deal by people or companies to cheat others

is a broader label for dishonest business behaviour not limited to conspiracies
cheating
vscrooked dealing
187 2.1

An act of tricking someone to get an unfair advantage

is a phrase emphasising business or financial unethical practices
wrongdoing
vscrooked dealing
117 3.7

Bad actions that break the law or moral rules

is narrowed to unethical behaviour mainly in business or finance
dishonesty
vscrooked dealing
46 3.2

Actions like lying, cheating, or stealing

focuses specifically on unethical business or financial conduct
racketeering
vscrooked dealing
  • NSFW
31 9.9

Illegal business deals that get money for organized crime groups

is a general term not limited to organized or criminal schemes
trickery
vscrooked dealing
27 4.9

To use dishonest ways to cheat people

is broader, including many dishonest business or financial actions
cheat
vscrooked dealing
15 2.8

An act of dishonesty that gives someone an unfair advantage

is used mainly for unethical acts in business or finance
graft
vscrooked dealing
14 8.2

Illegal use of power by officials, often involving bribes, to get money

is broader, covering unethical business acts beyond bribery specifically
dirty tricks
vscrooked dealing
12 6.0

Secret dishonest actions that harm or make someone look bad, often in politics and business

covers dishonest business behaviour more generally rather than only attacks
chicanery
vscrooked dealing
  • Formal
8 9.3

Tricks people use to deceive others to get money or advantage

is less about clever plotting and more about general unethical conduct
hanky-panky
vscrooked dealing
  • Slang
8 8.6

Secret or dishonest actions that try to cheat people

is the standard term for unethical business or financial behaviour
panky
vscrooked dealing
  • UK
6 9.9

Dishonest actions that try to trick people to get something

is the neutral business-focused description without playful tone
shady dealing
vscrooked dealing
  • Informal
4 5.6

Dishonest actions in business or money matters

is the broader phrase for unethical business or financial behaviour
fraudulence
vscrooked dealing
1 8.7

Dishonest behaviour that aims to get money or other unfair personal gain

is the specific behaviour label used particularly in business contexts
skulduggery
vscrooked dealing
1 9.8

Secret dishonest actions to get an unfair advantage

is a broader business ethics term not limited to trick-based schemes
shadiness
vscrooked dealing
1 6.9

Dishonest or secret behavior that seems against the law

is the concrete behaviour rather than the vague suspicious quality
double-dealing
vscrooked dealing
1 7.5

Behaving dishonestly by pretending one thing and doing another

is a more general label for dishonest business or finance acts
sleaziness
vscrooked dealing
  • Literature
1 8.1

Being dishonest and unfair in a way that harms others

is more neutral and focused on business or financial unethical acts
corruptness
vscrooked dealing
1 6.2

A habit of being dishonest and breaking rules to get money or power

is the phrase for specific unethical actions in business contexts
crookedness
vscrooked dealing
1 6.9

Dishonest behavior by a person or group

is the phrase pointing specifically to business or financial unethical acts
crookery
vscrooked dealing
9.5

Actions that cheat people to get their money

covers similar unethical business acts without insisting on crime
jiggery-pokery
vscrooked dealing
  • Archaic
9.9

Dishonest actions that try to trick people

is the broader term for unethical business or financial conduct
unscrupulousness
vscrooked dealing
8.8

A habit of ignoring right and wrong and being dishonest to get what you want

is the term for concrete unethical actions in business rather than character trait

Antonyms

365 1.0

Being truthful and fair in what you say and do

How Dishonest

fraud
577 4.0
scam
  • NSFW
294 3.0
crooked dealing
1 6.3
shady dealing
  • Informal
4 5.6

Surface Forms

Morphology

crooked + dealing

The meaning is directly and transparently built from 'crooked' (dishonest) modifying 'dealing' (business conduct); a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer it refers to dishonest or unethical business behaviour. This adjective + noun composition is a straightforward, cross-linguistic pattern and does not involve metaphorical shift or idiomatic meaning.

Etymology

The noun crooked dealing may come from the image of a card player making a crooked move while dealing cards to cheat. So, it now means 'dishonest or unethical behavior'.