flimflam
Americannoun
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a trick or deception, especially a swindle or confidence game involving skillful persuasion or clever manipulation of the victim.
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a piece of nonsense; twaddle; bosh.
verb (used with object)
noun
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nonsense; foolishness
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( as modifier )
flimflam arguments
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a deception; swindle
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of flimflam
First recorded in 1530–40; gradational compound of expressive origin
Explanation
A flimflam is a type of scam or con. If you're smart and savvy enough to recognize a flimflam, you won't get cheated out of your money. When someone plans a complicated scheme for tricking people out of their property or money, it's a flimflam. Many flimflams are some version of a con, or "confidence game," in which the con artist first gains the trust (or "confidence") of the victim, and then swindles money from him. You can also use flimflam as a verb: "He tried to flimflam me out of my entire bank account."
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.
He has spent the past two years framing his former partner as “Scam Altman”—something of an AI-era flimflam man.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026
That experience has made him allergic to both audience participation and flimflam, so they had decided on a format that was closer to an interview.
From New York Times • Jun. 20, 2023
His delivery is so engaged with Eddie’s flimflam and high jinx, it is almost impossible to believe that he — or at least his voice — was not a player.
From Washington Post • Oct. 6, 2022
Don't get this wrong – Odenkirk is at his funniest when Saul Goodman turns on his fast-talking flimflam.
From Salon • Apr. 18, 2022
He just as quick snatched it away and said, “I told you you were going to watch this. You can learn about how a flimflam works.”
From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis
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.
