flimflam

1 of 2

noun

flim·flam ˈflim-ˌflam

Synonyms of flimflam next

: deceptive nonsense

: deception, fraud

flimflam

2 of 2

verb

flimflammed; flimflamming

transitive verb

: to subject to a flimflam

flimflammer noun

flimflammery

ˈflim-ˌfla-mə-rē

noun

Did you know?

English is full of words concerned with trickery and deception, ranging from the colorful "flimflam," "bamboozle," and "hornswoggle" to the more mundane "deceive," "mislead," and "delude." "Flimflam" first entered English as a noun meaning "deceptive nonsense" in the second half of the 16th century. A sense meaning "deception" or "fraud" soon developed. The verb use didn't show up until well into the next century. In addition to general deceiving or tricking, the verb "flimflam" is often used specifically to refer to swindling someone out of money. The ultimate origin of "flimflam" is uncertain, but the word is probably of Scandinavian origin and may be related to the Old Norse flim, meaning "mockery."

Examples of flimflam in a Sentence

Noun The report is just a lot of corporate flimflam. giving the new guy at work her cell phone number—“in case of an emergency”—was just a flimflam to pique his romantic interest Verb everyone likes to think that they're too smart to be flimflammed by anyone

Recent Examples on the Web

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Noun

The flimflams continue, even in Walmart’s home state of Arkansas. —

Craig Silverman, ProPublica, 17 Jan. 2024 This is the language of partisan flimflam, not sober healthcare policymaking. —

Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2022

Verb

But liars like Kari Lake, who lost a bid for Arizona governor by parroting former President Trump’s falsehoods and hopes now to flimflam her way to a Senate seat, are only the most visible threat to our system of democracy. —

Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2023 See all Example Sentences for flimflam