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===Etymology===
===Etymology===
American criminal underworld slang, 1906 (noun), 1915 (verb), thinning alteration of {{m|en|graft}}.<ref>{{R:Online Etymology Dictionary}}</ref><ref>''A Dictionary of the Underworld: British and American'', Eric Partridge (2015), [https://books.google.com/books?id=MUbeCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA307&dq=grift p. 307]</ref><ref>''Word Origins...And How We Know Them: Etymology for Everyone'', Anatoly Liberman (2009), [https://books.google.com/books?id=sMiRc-JFIfMC&pg=PA32&dq=grift p. 32]</ref> The lighter sound (‘a’ → ‘i’, /ɑː/ or /æ/ → /ɪ/) is associated with more subtle, sophisticated crime; compare {{m|en|swindle}}.
American criminal underworld slang, 1906 (noun), 1915 (verb), thinning alteration of {{m|en|graft}}.<ref>{{R:Online Etymology Dictionary}}</ref><ref>''A Dictionary of the Underworld: British and American'', Eric Partridge (2015), [https://books.google.com/books?id=MUbeCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA307&dq=grift p. 307]</ref><ref>''Word Origins...And How We Know Them: Etymology for Everyone'', Anatoly Liberman (2009), [https://books.google.com/books?id=sMiRc-JFIfMC&pg=PA32&dq=grift p. 32]</ref> The lighter sound (⟨a⟩ → ⟨i⟩, {{IPAchar|/ɑː/}} or {{IPAchar|/æ/}} → {{IPAchar|/ɪ/}}) is associated with more subtle, sophisticated crime; compare {{m|en|swindle}}.


===Pronunciation===
===Pronunciation===

Revision as of 15:17, 16 November 2020

English

Etymology

American criminal underworld slang, 1906 (noun), 1915 (verb), thinning alteration of graft.[1][2][3] The lighter sound (⟨a⟩ → ⟨i⟩, /ɑː/ or /æ/ → /ɪ/) is associated with more subtle, sophisticated crime; compare swindle.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡɹɪft/
  • Audio (AU):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪft

Noun

grift (plural grifts)

  1. (US, slang) A confidence game or swindle. [from 1906]
    Hey, what's the grift? What are you trying to pull?

Synonyms

Translations

Verb

grift (third-person singular simple present grifts, present participle grifting, simple past and past participle grifted)

  1. (transitive, US, slang) To obtain illegally, as by con game. [from early 20th c.]
  2. (intransitive, US, slang) To obtain money illegally. [from early 20th c.]
  3. (intransitive, US, slang) To obtain money immorally or through deceitful means.

References

  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “grift”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
  2. ^ A Dictionary of the Underworld: British and American, Eric Partridge (2015), p. 307
  3. ^ Word Origins...And How We Know Them: Etymology for Everyone, Anatoly Liberman (2009), p. 32
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