sharper

Etymology

sharp + -er

adj

  1. comparative form of sharp: more sharp

noun

  1. (dated) a swindler; a cheat; a professional gambler who makes his living by cheating.
    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 […]
    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).

Attribution / Disclaimer All definitions come directly from Wiktionary using the Wiktextract library. We do not edit or curate the definitions for any words, if you feel the definition listed is incorrect or offensive please suggest modifications directly to the source (wiktionary/sharper), any changes made to the source will update on this page periodically.