spiv
/spɪv/ noun
Forms spivs
- noun (UK, Ireland, historical) A smartly dressed person who trades in illicit, black-market or stolen goods, especially during World War II.
- noun (UK, Ireland, dated) A flashy con artist, often homeless, who lives by his wits.
- noun (UK, Ireland, dated, Scotland Yard) A low and common thief.
- noun (UK, Ireland, dated) A slacker; one who shirks responsibility.
Synonyms
sharper chiseler wide boy bunco-steerer charlatan cheat jackal cheater cozener defrauder finagler fleecer fraud fraudmeister fraudster humbug goldbrick grifter gull gyp
Etymology
Unknown. Perhaps from spiff, spiffy. Spiv was the nickname of Henry Bagster, a Londoner arrested a number of times in 1904-6 for activities as described below, and may have been the archetype. Also possibly from Romani spiv (“sparrow”), as active and opportunistic.
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “spiv”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details