card sharper
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: A card sharper is a person who cheats at card games, especially as a profession. This term refers to someone who uses deception, sleight of hand, or marked cards to gain an unfair advantage and win money dishonestly from other players.
Usage
The term "card sharper" is used to identify a person whose primary method of earning money is through cheating in card games. It implies a level of skill and premeditation in the deception. * He lost his entire savings to a card sharper in a backroom poker game. * The casino employs experts to spot potential card sharpers before they can cheat other patrons.
Advanced Usage
- The term is often used in historical or literary contexts to describe characters in stories about gambling and deception.
- It can be used metaphorically to describe someone who is cunning and deceptive in business or other dealings, though this is an extended, figurative use.
- In the world of high finance, he was known as a card sharper, always one step ahead with a hidden advantage.
Variants and Related Words
- Card sharp (noun): A more common modern variant with the same meaning as "card sharper."
- Cardsharp (noun): An alternative spelling, often written as one word.
- Card shark (noun): A common informal variant. Note: "Card shark" can sometimes ambiguously refer to a highly skilled, legitimate player, but it frequently carries the same connotation of cheating as "card sharper."
- Cheat (noun): A general term for someone who acts dishonestly to gain an advantage.
- Swindler (noun): A person who uses deception to deprive someone of money or property.
Synonyms
- Cheater
- Hustler (in the context of gambling)
- Sharper (a more general term for a swindler)
- Trickster
Related Phrases
- To be sharped: A passive construction meaning to be cheated by a sharper.
- Several tourists reported being sharped in the district's gambling halls.
Noun
- a professional card player who makes a living by cheating at card games