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Glite Dictionary
spiv

spiv

1 9.9
A man who wears smart clothes and makes money by illegal or dishonest deals
  • noun
  • /spɪv/
  • Offensive
: timador
  • This is Spiv.

Those were stakehold salesman spivs who are lying for personal profit.

Examples

  • Those were stakehold salesman spivs who are lying for personal profit.

    Triggernometry

  • The spivs at the Beeb have no shame at all.

    Blog text (20)

  • - You fucking spivs are the reason I'm here.

    Green Street Hooligans 2 (2009)

  • I could get on the dog and bone to my mate Jimmy the Spiv... -...down Whitechapel way.

    National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985)

  • Nor was my hang-glider stolen by Polish spivs on the road south by way of Krakow.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • He always looked sharp in his suits, but everyone knew he was just a spiv making money through shady deals.

  • The sleek, charming spiv convinced unsuspecting customers to buy his unlicensed products.

  • While he appeared successful, his reputation was tarnished by being labeled a spiv in his local community.

How Dishonest

gangster
216 4.4
crook
  • Offensive
146 3.9
spiv
  • Offensive
1 9.9
hustler
  • Informal
66 7.6

Surface Forms

spiv singular
spivs plural

Etymology

The word spiv probably comes from an old Romani word meaning 'sparrow', a small, quick bird that people used to call a petty thief. A helpful way to remember spiv is to think of the English word spiffy ('smartly dressed'); a spiv often looks smart but makes money in a shady or illegal way.