Sharper


 
 
Sharper

A sharper is an older term, common since the seventeenth-century, for thieves who use trickery to part an owner with his or her money possessions. Sharpers vary from what we now call con-men by virtue of the simplicity of their cons, which often were impromptu, rather than carefully orchestrated, though those certainly happened as well. The 1737 Dictionary of Thieving Slang defines a sharper as "A Cheat, One who lives by his wits." In the nineteenth-century, and into today, the term is more closely associated with gambling.

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Con-men: redirectConfidence trick...

Gambling: Gambling (or betting) is any behavior involving risking money or property (making a wager or placing a stake) on the outcome of a game, contest, or other event in which the outcome of that activity depends partially or totally upon chance or upon one's ability to do something....


Sharper related Images and Photos (experimental)

Darren Sharper
Darren Sharper
Darren Sharper 2010 Playoff
Darren Sharper 2010 Playoff

~ Table of Content ~

Introduction
The Eighteenth-Century Sharper and Public Imagination
Outside sources
 


 

~ Related Subjects ~

Money (1) - Property (1) - Game (1) - Con-men (1) - Gambling (1) - Risk (1) -
 

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