confidence game



confidence game

Also, confidence trick; con game. A swindle in which the victim is defrauded after his or her trust has been won. For example, The police warned of a confidence game in which people were asked to turn over valuables for a so-called appraisal , or The typical confidence trick is easy to spot if you know what to look for, or I almost let myself be taken in by her con game-she seemed so sincere. These terms, which use confidence in the sense of "trust," date from the mid-1800s. They also gave rise to confidence man (or con man) for the swindler.
See also: confidence, game

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Bessie['besi]
Annigoni[æni'gəuni:]
CailynKAY-linEnglish (Modern)
Marian (2)MAHR-yahn (Polish)Polish, Czech, Romanian
RhodaRO-də (English)Biblical, English
Alecto-Greek Mythology (Latinized)