confidence game
Noun
Meaning
a swindle in which you cheat at gambling or persuade a person to buy worthless property
Source: WordNetSynonyms
con game
con
sting
hustle
bunco
bunko
flimflam
confidence trick
grift
bunco game
bunko game
fib
bluff
swindle
chicane
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Antonyms
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Examples
It is in this matter that I fall foul of so many American writers on writing; they seem to think that writing is a confidence game by means of which the author cajoles a restless, dull-witted, shallow audience into hearing his point of view. Such an attitude is base, and can only beget base prose.