huckster

American  

[huhk-ster] / ˈhʌk stər /

noun

1. a retailer of small articles, especially a peddler of fruits and vegetables; hawker.

2. a person who employs showy methods to effect a sale, win votes, etc..

   the crass methods of political hucksters.

3. a cheaply mercenary person.

4. Informal.

   1. a persuasive and aggressive salesperson.

   2. a person who works in the advertising industry, especially one who prepares aggressive advertising for radio and television.

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verb (used with or without object)

1. to deal, as in small articles, or to make petty bargains.

   to huckster fresh corn; to huckster for a living.

2. to sell or promote in an aggressive and flashy manner.

huckster British  

/ ˈhʌkstə /

noun

1. a person who uses aggressive or questionable methods of selling

2. rare a person who sells small articles or fruit in the street

3. a person who writes for radio or television advertisements

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verb

1. (tr) to peddle

2. (tr) to sell or advertise aggressively or questionably

3. to haggle (over)

Other Word Forms

• hucksterish adjective
• hucksterism noun

Etymology

Origin of huckster

1150–1200; Middle English huccstere (perhaps cognate with Middle Dutch hokester ), equivalent to hucc- haggle (cognate with dialectal German hucken to huckster) + -stere -ster

Example Sentences

But the drivers seemed somehow menacing to her, with their fake friendliness and huckstering offers of a ride.

From Literature

The Strip was once a magical place where innocents like Dorothy flocked to get into trouble, often in encounters with sleight-of-hand hucksters like Professor Marvel.

From Los Angeles Times

But Jackman sold its corny idealism with a huckster’s sincerity you couldn’t help but buy.

From Los Angeles Times

Crypto hucksters talk about their industry in deliberately confusing terms, so ordinary people tune it out, but it's not complicated.

From Salon

He told the BBC in September it was an industry “rife with fraud and hucksters and grifters”.

From BBC