hornswoggle
Pull one over
Hornswoggle is an informal, somewhat old-fashioned word meaning to trick, cheat, or deceive—usually in a way that's more clever than malicious: Don't let that salesman hornswoggle you into buying the extended warranty.
The word has a playful, folksy quality that makes serious fraud sound like a carnival con.
Deceive through cunning
- hoodwinkTrick into false belief
- dupeDeceive or victim
- conArgument against
- swindleDeception for financial gain
deceive · mislead · beguile · delude · cozen · gull · bilk · fleece
Deceptive scheme or nonsense
- chicaneryDeception through clever manipulation
- shenanigansMischievous or deceitful behavior
- mountebankTraveling seller of fake remedies
- charlatanFaker claiming false expertise
huckster · scalawag · rapscallion · skulduggery · tomfoolery · bamboozlement · fleecing · bunco
Dishonest money-making scheme
- swindleDeception for financial gain
- hoaxDeliberate deception for effect
- con gameFraudulent scheme for profit
- confidence trickFraud exploiting victim's trust
shell game · grift · hustle · racket · fleecing · bunco · sting · snake oil
Secretly cooperate in wrongdoing
- machinatePlot craftily, secretly
- finagleObtain through trickery
- wangleObtain through devious means
- manipulateControl through clever influence
contrive · maneuver · outfox · outsmart · engineer · orchestrate · strategize · plot
bamboozle
Deceive through cunning
swindle · deceive · mislead · beguile · delude · cozen · gull · bilk · fleece · defraud
flimflam
Deceptive scheme or nonsense
- chicaneryDeception through clever manipulation
- shenanigansMischievous or deceitful behavior
- mountebankTraveling seller of fake remedies
charlatan · huckster · scalawag · rapscallion · skulduggery · tomfoolery · bamboozlement · fleecing · bunco · jiggery-pokery
scam
Dishonest money-making scheme
- swindleDeception for financial gain
- hoaxDeliberate deception for effect
- con gameFraudulent scheme for profit
confidence trick · shell game · grift · hustle · racket · fleecing · bunco · sting · snake oil · three-card monte
connive
Secretly cooperate in wrongdoing
manipulate · contrive · maneuver · outfox · outsmart · engineer · orchestrate · strategize · plot · intrigue