flimflam

¹flim·flam

noun \ˈflim-ˌflam\

Definition of FLIMFLAM

1

: deceptive nonsense

2

: deception, fraud

Examples of FLIMFLAM

1. The report is just a lot of corporate flimflam.
2. <giving the new guy at work her cell phone number—“in case of an emergency”—was just a flimflam to pique his romantic interest>

Origin of FLIMFLAM

perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse flim mockery

First Known Use: circa 1570

Related to FLIMFLAM

Synonyms

artifice, device, dodge, fetch, trick, gambit, gimmick, jig, juggle, knack, play, ploy, scheme, shenanigan, sleight, stratagem, wile

Related Words

bluff, end run, feint; cheating, chicanery, cozenage, craft, crookery, cunning, deception, dupery, duplicity, fakery, jugglery, legerdemain, skulduggery (or skullduggery), subterfuge, swindling, trickery; fraud, gaff, hoax, sham, swindle; blind, front, smoke screen

Rhymes with FLIMFLAM

air dam, Annam, ashram, exam, goddamn, grandam, grand slam, hard clam, imam, logjam, madame, Mailgram, milldam, nizam, Priam, program, quondam, surf clam, tam-tam, thiram, trigram, webcam, whim-wham, ziram

²flimflam

transitive verb

flim·flammedflim·flam·ming

Definition of FLIMFLAM

: to subject to a flimflam

— flim·flam·mer noun

— flim·flam·mery \-ˌfla-mə-rē\ noun

Examples of FLIMFLAM

1. <everyone likes to think that they're too smart to be flimflammed by anyone>

First Known Use of FLIMFLAM

1660

Related to FLIMFLAM

Synonyms

beat, bilk, bleed, cheat, chisel, chouse, con, cozen, defraud, diddle, do, do in, euchre, fiddle, fleece, gaff, gyp, hose [slang], hustle, mulct, nobble [British slang], pluck, ream, rip off, rook, screw, shake down, short, shortchange, skin, skunk, squeeze, stick, stiff, sting, sucker, swindle, thimblerig, victimize

Related Words

extort, wrench, wrest, wring; clip, gouge, nick, overcharge, soak; exploit, milk; deceive, dupe, fool, gull, trick; rope (in); betray, bitch, double-cross; bamboozle, fast-talk