con game
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of con game
First recorded in 1950–55
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Stefan Pildes promoted SantaCon as an event grounded in charitable giving, but instead of donating the millions of dollars he raised, he ran his own con game," US Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement.
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026
These movies ask: To what extent is love a con game?
From Washington Post ● Dec. 29, 2018
“It’s a con game they’re playing,” he said Tuesday.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 25, 2018
In the mid-’90s, Raniere signed a consent order that didn’t admit wrongdoing, but did force him to agree he’d never initiate another con game of that exact variety.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2018
If this is done knowingly and with intent to defraud, this is an illegal con game.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
