Flimflammed: meaning, definitions and examples
🎭
flimflammed
[ ˈflɪm.flæm ]
deceiving someone
To flimflam someone means to deceive or cheat them, often through trickery or cleverness. This term suggests a sense of absurdity or foolishness in the act of being duped. It can refer to both minor cons and more significant swindles.
Synonyms
bamboozle, con, dupe, swindle.
Examples of usage
- The con artist flimflammed the elderly couple out of their life savings.
- He flimflammed his way into the exclusive event by using a fake invitation.
- They thought they could flimflam the authorities, but their scheme fell apart quickly.
Translations
Translations of the word "flimflammed" in other languages:
🇵🇹 enganado
🇮🇳 धोखा दिया गया
🇩🇪 betrogen
🇮🇩 ditipu
🇺🇦 обманутий
🇵🇱 oszukany
🇯🇵 騙された
🇫🇷 duper
🇪🇸 engañado
🇹🇷 aldatıldı
🇰🇷 속았다
🇸🇦 خُدِعَ
🇨🇿 oškubán
🇸🇰 oklamaný
🇨🇳 被欺骗
🇸🇮 prevaren
🇮🇸 svikinn
🇰🇿 алдау
🇬🇪 დატყუებული
🇦🇿 aldadılmış
🇲🇽 engañado
Etymology
The term "flimflam" is believed to have originated in the early 19th century, likely as a colloquial or slang term in American English. Its roots may trace back to a combination of the words 'flim' and 'flam', which evoke a sense of flimsy or insubstantial, combined with a suggestion of nonsense or trickery. The use of reduplication in creating the term adds a playful tone, typical of many expressions in English. Over time, 'flimflam' has been used in literature and conversation to denote not only the act of deceiving or tricking someone but also to characterize the nature of such a deception as being somewhat silly or ill-conceived. This word has woven itself into the fabric of informal and humorous English, often used to describe scams that are both audacious and somewhat ridiculous.