spiv

American  

[spiv] / spɪv /

noun

British Informal.

1. a petty criminal, especially a black marketeer, racetrack tout, or petty thief.

---

spiv British  

/ spɪv /

noun

1. slang  a person who makes a living by underhand dealings or swindling; black marketeer

---

Other Word Forms

• spivvy adjective

Etymology

Origin of spiv

1885–90; back formation from dial. spiving smart; perhaps akin to spiffy

Example Sentences

Often cast as cockney spivs at the start of his career, he moved on to authority figures like the doctor who treats Connery's James Bond in 1983's Never Say Never Again.

From BBC

She sounds like she’s auditioning for a cartoon about wartime spivs.

From The Guardian

The spivs and grotesques now running the country might have stepped whole from his pages, whipping up nationalism while discreetly betting against the pound and arranging second passports.

From The Guardian

Why is this country ready to go back to an abusive relationship with these private school spivs?

From The Guardian

He conforms to the stereotype of every person who sees it as a spivs’ marketplace.

From The Guardian