highbinder

American  

[hahy-bahyn-der] / ˈhaɪˌbaɪn dər /

noun

1. a swindler; confidence man; cheat.

2. a dishonest political official or leader.

3. a member of a secret Chinese band or society employed in U.S. cities in blackmail, assassination, etc.

4. a ruffian or rowdy.

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highbinder British  

/ ˈhaɪˌbaɪndə /

noun

1. a gangster

2. a corrupt politician

3. (formerly) a member of a Chinese-American secret society that engaged in blackmail, murder, etc

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Etymology

Origin of highbinder

1800–10, apparently high + binder; literal sense is unclear

Example Sentences

Finally he questioned with soft cheer: "And what sort of a highbinder are you?"

From Son of Power by Comfort, Will Levington

We have pegged those stocks where the slump would be most demoralizing and already this highbinder, Burton, has smashed those pegs like match-stems.

From Destiny by Buck, Charles Neville

So I wasn’t going to have Beatrice’s husband a cutthroat and a highbinder as he would have to be if he had turned the whole trick.

From The Gorgeous Girl by Bartley, Nalbro

Her next question was, "Have you ever been a highbinder?"

From As A Chinaman Saw Us Passages from his Letters to a Friend at Home by Gratton, Henry Pearson

And twelve for Tessie, and eight for this highbinder on my knee, here!

From Poor, Dear Margaret Kirby by Norris, Kathleen Thompson

Related Words

• accomplice
• collaborator
• plotter
• traitor