sandbaggers
Strategic skill concealers
Sandbaggers are people who deliberately underperform or conceal their abilities to gain an advantage later—common in golf, poker, and other competitions where handicaps or expectations matter.
Someone who sandbagged their way to a lower handicap, then played their true game in a tournament, is a sandbagger.
The term extends to anyone strategically downplaying their skills: The sandbaggers in our fantasy league always draft last.
Aggressive, unscrupulous earner
- sharkCartilaginous marine predator
- ringerImpostor in competition
- fakerOne who pretends
- pretenderIllegitimate claimant to power
con artist · gamesmanship · bluff · feint · ruse · ploy · subterfuge · guile
Contrary to athletic ethics
- unfairUnjust or partial
- dishonestyDisposition toward falsehood
- shamFraudulent imitation
- pretenseDeceptive outward show
faking · feigning · throwing · tanking · underperforming · handicapping · pool shark · golf handicap
Weaken by stealth
- subvertSecretly weaken authority
- betrayViolate a trust
- double-crossTreacherous deception of partner
- obstructBlock or hinder passage
thwart · disrupt · destabilize · impede · hamper · hinder · weaken · compromise
River flood barrier
- dikeWall against flooding
- barrierObstruction preventing passage
- embankmentRaised earth structure
- floodgateWater-controlling barrier mechanism
floodplain · dam · bulkhead · sea wall · breakwater · retaining wall · spillway · culvert
hustler
Aggressive, unscrupulous earner
pretender · con artist · gamesmanship · bluff · feint · ruse · ploy · subterfuge · guile · cunning
unsportsmanlike
Contrary to athletic ethics
- unfairUnjust or partial
- dishonestyDisposition toward falsehood
- shamFraudulent imitation
pretense · faking · feigning · throwing · tanking · underperforming · handicapping · pool shark · golf handicap · poker
undermine
Weaken by stealth
- subvertSecretly weaken authority
- betrayViolate a trust
- double-crossTreacherous deception of partner
obstruct · thwart · disrupt · destabilize · impede · hamper · hinder · weaken · compromise · infiltrate
levee
River flood barrier
- dikeWall against flooding
- barrierObstruction preventing passage
- embankmentRaised earth structure
floodgate · floodplain · dam · bulkhead · sea wall · breakwater · retaining wall · spillway · culvert · drainage
sandbaggersoverachievers
Those who exceed expectations
try-hards · grinders · hustlers · go-getters