con artist
1. A person who exploits the vulnerability of others for his or her own sake by manipulating and taking advantage of their confidence (the act of which is known as a confidence trick or game). It is the common abbreviation of the full term, "confidence artist." Be wary of con artists who send e-mails claiming to be a bank or some other trustworthy establishment: they often ask for your personal bank details to have access to your finances.
2. By extension, a person who is skilled at duplicity, cajolery, or self-serving manipulation or persuasion. John is such a con artist, always convincing others to pay for him on nights out under the pretense that he'll "pay them back later."
con man
1. A man who exploits the vulnerability of others for his own sake by manipulating and taking advantage of their confidence (the act of which is known as a confidence trick or game). It is the common abbreviation of the full term, "confidence man." Be wary of con men who send e-mails claiming to be a bank or some other trustworthy establishment: they often ask for your personal bank details so as to have access to your finances.
2. By extension, a man who is skilled at duplicity, cajolery, or self-serving manipulation or persuasion. John is such a con man, always convincing others to pay for him on nights out under the pretense that he'll "pay them back later."
fast buck
1. noun Money made quickly and/or without effort, often through dishonest, unscrupulous, or ethically dubious means. Often used in the phrase "make/earn a fast buck." The people hawking T-shirts commemorating the tragedy are just looking to make a fast buck.
2. modifier (hyphenated and always before a noun) Concerned with making money quickly, easily, and (often) unscrupulously. Often used to modify the word "artist," thus implying the individual is a swindler to some degree. All of these Wall Street investors are just a bunch of fast-buck artists, if you ask me. Before the economic crash, a huge amount of fast-buck speculators were selling over-inflated loans to people for property that was essentially worthless.
piss-artist
rude slang 1. One who falsely claims to have knowledge about a topic. Primarily heard in UK, Australia. That message board is filled with nothing but piss-artists who think they know everything.
rude slang 2. One who is often drunk. I advised Jenny not to date that piss-artist because he drinks his money away at the bar every night.
be an [artist/patriot/professional/etc.] to your fingertips
if you say that someone is an artist, patriot, professional etc. to their fingertips, you mean that they behave in a way which is completely typical of such a person, and it is the most important part of their character Mark, a professional to his fingertips, insisted that we should make proper joints, not simply nail the pieces of wood together.
a piss-artist
1. (British & Australian informal) someone who tries to make people believe they have knowledge about a subject, but who really does not know much about it Those so-called multi-media consultants were just a bunch of piss-artists.
2. (British & Australian informal) someone who is often drunk He's a nice enough bloke but he's a real piss-artist.
bullshit artist
Also, bull artist. A person who habitually exaggerates, flatters, or talks nonsense. For example, Don't believe a word of it-he's a bullshit artist. Both versions are considered vulgar slang. The first dates from the 1940s, the second from the World War I period.
fast buck
Money made quickly and easily and, often, dishonestly. For example,
He's all right, but his partner is just out for a fast buck. This expression gave rise to
fast-buck artist for an individual, especially a swindler, intent on making money quickly. [
Slang; mid-1900s] Also see
easy money.
artist
n. a combining form meaning specialist. For specific meanings go to booze artist; bullshit artist; burn artist; castor oil artist; con artist; flimflam artist; hype artist; make-out artist; off artist; (rip-)off artist; take-off artist.
booze artist
n. a drunken person; a drunkard. A wobbly booze artist sat musing on the stool in the corner.
bullshit artist
and bullshitter n. a person expert at lies, deception, and hype. (see also bullshit. Usually objectionable.) What can you expect from a bullshit artist? The truth? Listen to me. Don’t ever try to bullshit a bullshitter!
burn artist
n. someone who cheats or harms someone else; an informer. (Underworld.) Never trust a known burn artist.
castor oil artist
n. a medical doctor. This two-bit castor oil artist tried to get me to lose weight.
con man
and con artist n. someone who makes a living by swindling people. Gary is a con artist, but at least he’s not on the dole. I was taken by a real con man!
con artist
verbflimflam artist
n. someone who practices confidence tricks or deceptions on someone else. I don’t trust that flimflam artist at all.
hype artist
n. someone who produces aggressive promotional material for a living. She is a hype artist for a public relations firm.
make-out artist
n. a seducer; a lecher, usually a male. (see also
lady-killer.)
He might have been a make-out artist in his youth, but I doubt it. fast buck
verb(rip-)off artist
n. a con artist. Beware of the rip-off artist who runs that shop.
off artist
verbtake-off artist
n. a thief. (Underworld.) A take-off artist known as the Cat is cleaning out closets and jewelry boxes all over town.