sharper en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈʃɑɹpɚ/ (General-American)
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From sharp + -er.
Meanings
-
(comparative, form-of) comparative form of sharp: more sharp
form of sharp
Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
sharper en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈʃɑɹpɚ/ (General-American)
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From sharp + -er.
Meanings
-
(dated) A swindler; a cheat; a professional gambler who makes his living by cheating.
He was a man whom scarcely any amount of fortune could have benefited permanently, and who was made to be ruined, to cheat small tradesmen, to be the victim of astuter sharpers …
1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 44, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:1878, John Payne, Introduction, in François Villon, Poems, translated by John Payne, New York: Boni & Liveright, c. 1918, p. 33 https://archive.org/details/poemsvillon00vill […] in a twinkling the accomplished sharper changes the pitchers and pretending to examine the contents, asks the tapster what kind of wine he has given him […]
I could plainly diſcover from whence one Family derives a long Chin; why a ſecond hath abounded with Knaves for two Generations, and Fools for two more; why a third happened to be crack-brained, and a fourth to be Sharpers.
1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “A Further Account of Glubbdubdrib. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume II, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part III (A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Glubbdubdribb, Luggnagg, and Japan), page 108:Our young gentlemen who go to Rome will do well to be upon their guard against a set of sharpers, (some of them of our own country,) who deal in pictures and antiques, and very often impose upon the uninformed stranger, by selling him trash, as the productions of the most celebrated artists.
1766, T[obias] Smollett, “Letter XXIX”, in Travels through France and Italy. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: […] R[oberts] Baldwin, […], →OCLC:1882, W. S. Gilbert, "Emily, John, James, and I: A Derby Legend" in The "Bab" Ballads, Philadelphia: David McKay, publishing date not given, p. 275, https://archive.org/details/babballads00gilb The Derby Day sun glittered gaily on cads, / On maidens with gamboge hair, / On sharpers and pickpockets, swindlers and pads— / (For I, with my harp, was there).
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| sharpers | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Synonyms
Translations (3)
pt malandro (cheat, card-sharper) · ru шу́лер (cheat, card-sharper) · bg измамник (cheat, card-sharper)