knaves
Jacks in decks
Knaves is the plural of knave, an old-fashioned word for a dishonest or unscrupulous man—a rogue or scoundrel.
The word appears most often in historical fiction or period drama: The castle was overrun by knaves and thieves.
In card games, knave is the traditional British term for the jack: the knave of hearts.
Dishonest, unprincipled people
- rascalsMischievous troublemakers
- villainsEvil characters in narratives
- blackguardsContemptible, unprincipled persons
- miscreantsWrongdoers or lawbreakers
rapscallions · cads · bounders · ne'er-do-wells · charlatans · swindlers · cheats · tricksters
Device for lifting vehicles
Knights' apprentice servants
- vassalsFeudal subordinates owing service
- serfsFeudal bound laborers
- pagesBound paper sheets
- courtiersRoyal court members
servants · lackeys · scullions · varlets · footmen · attendants · manor · castle
Intentional misleading of others
- cunningSly, scheming cleverness
- guileSly, strategic dishonesty
- duplicityDeliberate misleading behavior
- treacheryDeliberate violation of trust
chicanery · scheming · subterfuge · deceit · craftiness · artifice · slyness · dishonesty
scoundrels
Dishonest, unprincipled people
- rascalsMischievous troublemakers
- villainsEvil characters in narratives
- blackguardsContemptible, unprincipled persons
miscreants · rapscallions · cads · bounders · ne'er-do-wells · charlatans · swindlers · cheats · tricksters · rogues
jack
Device for lifting vehicles
- jacksChildren's ball-and-pieces game
- spadesFlat-bladed digging implements
- heartsCirculatory system engines
diamonds · clubs · queen · king · ace · deck · shuffle · trump · dealt · hand
squires
Knights' apprentice servants
courtiers · servants · lackeys · scullions · varlets · footmen · attendants · manor · castle · feudalism
deception
Intentional misleading of others
- cunningSly, scheming cleverness
- guileSly, strategic dishonesty
- duplicityDeliberate misleading behavior
treachery · chicanery · scheming · subterfuge · deceit · craftiness · artifice · slyness · dishonesty · manipulation
- roguesrogue, rogues, scoundrel, scoundrels, rascal
- deceiversliar, liars, deceiver, fraud, fake
- thugsthugs, goons, heavies, toughs, brutes
- humours comedytemperament, bile, black bile, yellow bile, phlegm
- knave of heartsRed suit face card
- knave of clubsClub-suited court card