flimflammer

Etymology

From flimflam + -er.

flimflammer means A swindler; a con artist. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.

Why “flimflammer” is a great word

FLIMFLAMMER — [Noun] A person who swindles others through elaborate deception or trickery. From flimflam (expressive reduplicative word of uncertain origin, possibly Scandinavian, first recorded 1530–40) + -er (agent noun suffix). Unlike a charlatan, who trades on fraudulent expertise, or a shyster, who employs petty, legalistic cunning, the flimflammer is an artist of the grand, theatrical con. He is the polished pitchman selling deeds to a painted desert, the auctioneer coaxing bids for a forged masterpiece, the architect of a glittering Ponzi scheme—a performer whose true art is the meticulous staging of belief before its quiet, inevitable collapse.

noun

A swindler; a con artist.“And “The Real McCoy” turned the story of the famous boxer Kid McCoy into the tall yet intimate tale of a flimflammer who slugged and conned his way to notoriety at the turn of the 20th century.”