grifter

[grif-ter]

noun

Slang.

1. a person who operates a side show at a circus, fair, etc., especially a gambling attraction.

2. a swindler, dishonest gambler, or the like.

Word History and Origins

Origin of grifter¹

First recorded in 1910–15; grift + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Not only because he, a lifelong grifter, knew he could win on a platform of hate, but because he truly hates people who don’t praise him.

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He was a grifter who spent your grandmother’s money, tried to spend your inheritance and his wife is continuing that not-so-grand tradition.

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Viewed from Orange County, L.A. is the flagship of the fleet of the absurd, the dreamland of pitchmen and grifters, the progenitor of wicked Hollywood glitz and drive-by shootings.

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Below that, thousands of comments tumbled in, calling him a terrorist and a grifter.

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So while Fuentes may survive longer as a true believer, he’ll never gain as much money and influence as the grifters.

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