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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
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 16 May 2026
Amid all the fakery and flimflam of the pre-regulated drug market, the Shaker brand was the best.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 4 May 2026
Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 10 Oct. 2023
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Cite this Entry
“Flimflam.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flimflam. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
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