slicksters
Glib con artists
Slicksters are smooth, crafty operators—people who use charm and cleverness to manipulate others or work the system to their advantage.
The term carries a note of distrust: Those slicksters on Wall Street will say anything to close a deal.
A slickster might be a con artist, a slippery salesman, or anyone whose polish feels like a warning sign.
People who deceive for gain
- swindlersDeceivers who steal through trickery
- griftersPetty swindlers, confidence tricksters
- scammersPeople who defraud others
- hustlersThose who deceive for profit
tricksters · cheats · deceivers · flimflammers · mountebanks · bamboozlers · sharks · sharpers
Crafty and calculating
- connivingSecretly planning wrongdoing
- cunningSly, scheming cleverness
- calculatingColdly self-serving in strategy
- deviousUnderhanded and calculating
underhanded · crafty · insidious · exploitative · guileful · wily · artful · sly
Mentally sharp, discerning
- cannyShrewdly practical and cautious
- savvyPractical shrewdness
- sharpFine-edged, or astute
- cleverShowing mental quickness
smart · quick-witted · streetwise · worldly · resourceful · perceptive · keen · wily
Smoothly refined in manner
- smoothWithout roughness or difficulty
- glibSuperficially articulate
- charismaticCompellingly attractive to others
- debonairSophisticated and carefree
polished · urbane · sophisticated · oily · unctuous · ingratiating · persuasive · disarming
fraudsters
People who deceive for gain
- swindlersDeceivers who steal through trickery
- griftersPetty swindlers, confidence tricksters
- scammersPeople who defraud others
hustlers · tricksters · cheats · deceivers · flimflammers · mountebanks · bamboozlers · sharks · sharpers · bilkers
scheming
Crafty and calculating
- connivingSecretly planning wrongdoing
- cunningSly, scheming cleverness
- calculatingColdly self-serving in strategy
devious · underhanded · crafty · insidious · exploitative · guileful · wily · artful · sly · duplicitous
astute
Mentally sharp, discerning
clever · smart · quick-witted · streetwise · worldly · resourceful · perceptive · keen · wily · opportunistic
suave
Smoothly refined in manner
- smoothWithout roughness or difficulty
- glibSuperficially articulate
- charismaticCompellingly attractive to others
debonair · polished · urbane · sophisticated · oily · unctuous · ingratiating · persuasive · disarming · winning
slickstersstraight shooters
Forthright, honest individuals
truth-tellers · honest brokers · straight arrows · stand-up guys · do-gooders
slickstersrubes
Gullible country folk
bumpkins · hayseeds · simpletons · hicks · plain folks
slickstersdo-gooders
People who help others ostentatiously
altruists · Good Samaritans · philanthropists · humanitarians · benefactors