short con

noun

Slang.

1. any simple confidence game involving a relatively small amount of money.

Example Sentences

Parker, a carnival worker whose showmanship and talent for the short con earned him the nickname “The Snowman,” is portrayed as an Iago-like schemer who sees Presley as the ultimate geek, ripe for exploitation.

Read more on Washington Post

“Defendants have chosen to deal with it in a classic Chicago political way … a short con shell game, a corrupt scheme to deceive and seemingly legitimize an illegal land grab,” the lawsuit says.

Read more on Seattle Times

But where Tim was only about the short con, Sizwe had schemes: If we do this, we get that, then we can flip that for the other thing, which gives us the leverage we need to get something bigger.

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It’s also a bald-faced lie, a fake promise and a short con.

Read more on Slate

Chuck was originally invented just to give Jimmy someone to care about, a reason for being other than just the short con.

Read more on New York Times