shylocks
Extortionate money lenders
Shylocks are moneylenders who charge exorbitant interest, or loan sharks generally.
The term comes from the Jewish moneylender in Shakespeare's *The Merchant of Venice*, who demands a pound of flesh as collateral.
The word carries antisemitic overtones, portraying Jews as greedy and merciless in financial dealings.
As a verb, to shylock is to lend money at exploitative rates.
Lenders charging illegal rates
- loan sharksIllegal high-interest lenders
- pawnbrokersLenders securing personal property
- creditorsThose owed payment
- financiersProviders of capital
moneylenders · lenders · interest · predatory lending · collateral · borrowers · repayment · high interest
Shakespearean comedy about debt
- ShakespeareElizabethan dramatist and poet
- AntonioRomance language name
- PortiaLatin-derived feminine name
- VeniceLagoon city, northeastern Italy
pound of flesh · bond · ducats · Jessica · Rialto · revenge · Belmont · comedy
Bigotry toward Jewish people
- caricatureExaggerated comic depiction
- greedExcessive desire for wealth
- avariceExcessive desire for riches
- miserlinessExcessive reluctance to spend
prejudice · scapegoat · discrimination · slur · offensive · derogatory · bigotry · trope
Showing no clemency
- unforgivingShowing no leniency
- heartlessLacking pity or mercy
- demandingRequiring great effort
- cruelWillfully causing suffering
exacting · pitiless · relentless · vindictive · harsh · inflexible · unyielding · severe
usurers
Lenders charging illegal rates
- loan sharksIllegal high-interest lenders
- pawnbrokersLenders securing personal property
- creditorsThose owed payment
financiers · moneylenders · lenders · interest · predatory lending · collateral · borrowers · repayment · high interest · compound interest
Merchant of Venice
Shakespearean comedy about debt
- ShakespeareElizabethan dramatist and poet
- AntonioRomance language name
- PortiaLatin-derived feminine name
Venice · pound of flesh · bond · ducats · Jessica · Rialto · revenge · Belmont · comedy · villain
antisemitism
Bigotry toward Jewish people
- caricatureExaggerated comic depiction
- greedExcessive desire for wealth
- avariceExcessive desire for riches
miserliness · prejudice · scapegoat · discrimination · slur · offensive · derogatory · bigotry · trope · harmful
merciless
Showing no clemency
- unforgivingShowing no leniency
- heartlessLacking pity or mercy
- demandingRequiring great effort
cruel · exacting · pitiless · relentless · vindictive · harsh · inflexible · unyielding · severe · unmerciful
shylocksgivers
Those who donate
altruists · Antonio · saints · bleeding hearts · soft touches
shylocksdonors
People who give gifts
givers · almsgivers · benefactresses · Santa Claus · philanthropists