† swindlen.1
Obsolete.
1. A wooden tool used for beating and scraping flax or hemp so as to remove any woody or coarse parts; = swingle n.1 1.Attested only in compounds: swindlehand n. a swingle for beating and scraping flax or hemp; cf. swingle-hand n.; swindlestock n. a board on which flax or hemp is beaten or scraped; cf. swingle-stock n. at swingle- comb. form .
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > treating or processing textile materials > treating or processing flax, hemp, or jute > [noun] > beating > implement for
swinglec1325
swingle-stickc1325
swingle-stockc1340
swingle-wandc1340
brakec1450
swingle-hand1483
swindlehanda1500
swingletree?a1500
swingling-stock?a1500
swingle-foot1500
swingling-bat1552
tow-beetle1601
tewtaw1652
swingle-staff1664
swingle-head1677
cataract1693
hemp-beatera1726
hand brake1766
scutcher1766
scutchc1791
swingling-board1819
swingling-hand1825
bott-hammer1839
swingling-post1902
a1500 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 696/7 Hoc exculidium, a swyndylstoc. Hoc excudium, a swyndilland.
2. English regional. The swinging part of a flail that strikes the grain in threshing; the swipple. Cf. swingle n.1 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation of grain > [noun] > threshing > flail > part of
flail-capc1440
flail-staffc1440
flail-swinglec1440
swinglec1440
swipplea1450
supple1556
flinging-tree1786
flail-stone1851
flapper1854
swindle1857
swingletree1858
1857 G. Borrow Romany Rye I. xxx. 359 I drank with the harvesters, who sang me songs about rural life, such as—‘Sitting in the swale; and listening to the swindle of the flail, as it sounds dub-a-dub on the corn, from the neighbouring barn.’
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2019; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
† swindlen.2
Obsolete. rare.
Vertigo or dizziness. Cf. swindling n.1
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > vertigo > [noun]
dizzinessc900
swimeOE
swinglingc1000
turningc1230
turngiddya1382
giddiness1398
turngiddiness1398
vertiginyc1400
turn-sick?c1450
swindling1527
vertigo1528
swimming1530
swindle1559
turnsickness1559
duseling1561
whirling1561
turn-sick giddiness1577
megrim1595
vertiginousness1599
whimsya1627
tiegoa1640
lightheadedness1645
swimmering1650
swim1817
swirling1825
swimminess1894
1559 P. Morwyng tr. C. Gesner Treasure of Euonymus 137 This lyquor is good for the headache, fallinge sicknesse, frensye, swindle or turnsicknes [L. uertigini].
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2019).
swindlen.3
/ˈswɪndl/, U.S. /ˈswɪnd(ə)l/ 1. An act of using deception, trickery, etc., to obtain or take something, esp. money; an instance of swindling someone; a fraudulent transaction or scheme. Also more generally: an act of duping, tricking, or deceiving someone; a lie, trick.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > [noun] > instance or piece of
lurch1533
fool-finder1685
chouse1708
swindle1778
swindling1814
do1821
shave1834
steal1872
fiddle1874
diddle1885
ramp1888
tweedle1890
take-down1892
window dressing1892
gyp1898
bobol1907
flanker1923
hype1926
have-on1931
chizz1953
scam1963
rip-off1968
rip1971
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > cheating, fraud > [noun] > instance of
braida1000
fraudc1374
mock1523
brogue1537
flim-flamc1538
imposture1548
lie1560
cozening1576
smoke-hole1580
gullery1598
gull1600
cog1602
coggery1602
fraudulency1630
imposition1632
cheat1649
fourbery1650
prestige1656
sham1677
crimp1684
bite1711
humbug1750
swindle1778
hookum-snivey1781
shim-sham1797
gag1805
intake1808
racket1819
wooden nutmeg1822
sell1838
caper1851
skin game1879
Kaffir bargain1899
swizzle1913
swizz1915
put-on1919
ready-up1924
rort1926
jack-up1945
1778 Gazetteer & New Daily Advertiser 3 Feb. He made such connections as gained him the credit of some thousand pounds worth of jewels, which he in a little time after made off with..; so, to make use of a Jew phrase, it proved to be all a swindle.
1852 C. W. Day Five Year's Resid. W. Indies II. 185 The West India Islands are full of the swindles of European tradesmen. Wine and spirits are shockingly adulterated, [etc.].
1864 W. Russell Eccentric Personages 144 The pretence of being a woman was, unquestionably, a mere swindle, and that of the most obvious kind.
1881 Jrnl. Inst. Bankers Nov. 573 The trustees under liquidation never have their bills taxed; they charge what they like and do what they like; it is a perfect swindle with them.
1944 Plebs Apr. 48/2 His [sc. Hitler's] peace talk was only a swindle to gain time for rearmament.
1976 R. Sabbag Snow Blind ii. 25 Whenever they were together and an opportunity presented itself, they engineered a swindle of one kind or another—either on a bookie, on a rich friend, or on another swindler.
2000 New Yorker 13 Mar. 100/3 The exhilaration of making..big money quickly bubbles over into scams and swindles.
2. colloquial. In extended use with reference to the idea of losing money, typically with the (humorous) implication of being swindled out of it.† a. U.S. The price or cost of something. Cf. damage n. 5. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1835 W. G. Clark in Knickerbocker Feb. 146 I produced my garment, and desired to know what the swindle would be for a new set of buttons, a professional renovation of the sleeves, and a banishment of the oil from the collar.
1853 Harper's Mag. Aug. 424/1 After ‘dickering’ some time with the long-legged door-keeper, he disbursed ‘the swindle’, as he called it—a quarter of a dollar—and entered to see the ‘cur'osity’.
1872 M. S. De Vere Americanisms 576 When he [sc. a Western man] wishes to know what he has to pay, he asks, What's the damage? or, not so charitably, What's the swindle?
b. An act of betting or gambling; a game of chance on which money is staked. Also: a ticket for a lottery, sweepstake, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > lottery or raffle > [noun]
lottery1567
rifling1569
raffle1734
lotto1787
draw1839
roulette1861
swindle1868
shake1877
shackle1881
the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > types of choice > [noun] > choosing by casting lots > tossing a coin
toss-up1752
toss1798
swindle1868
spin1882
1868 Illustr. London News 8 Feb. 127/2 The trial of ‘Davey v. Walmsley’..has afforded an amusing proof of the troubles of a sporting prophet... Some light was thrown on the ‘Shilling Specs’ or ‘Shilling Swindles’.
1890 A. Barrère & C. G. Leland Dict. Slang II. 326/2 When a proposition is made to toss for a drink by spinning a coin, the phrase is generally ‘let's have a swindle’.
1979 R. G. P. Kerridge Hist. of Lancing vii. 169 In order to obtain their equipment the youths sold twopenny sweep tickets—commonly known as ‘swindles’—and paid a subscription of threepence per week.
2008 R. Lewis Wenglish 203 Swindle, a sweepstake, prize draw or raffle.
3. colloquial. Something which is not as good, impressive, valuable, etc., as it is claimed or represented to be; something which does not live up to expectations. Also occasionally denoting a person (cf. fraud n. 4b).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > [noun] > one who or that which dissembles
feigner1382
pseudo1402
simular1526
simuler1534
colourer1554
counterfeiter1561
truphane1568
counterfeit1574
put-forth1581
pretender1583
impostor1586
idol1590
would-be1607
phantasm1622
farce1696
imposture1699
Barmecide1713
simulator1835
fraud1850
sham1850
fake1855
swindle1858
shammer1861
make-believe1863
hoax1869
economizer1874
make-believer1884
ringer1896
phoney1902
faker1910
shill1976
1858 tr. J. H. Blasius Let. Sept. in Ibis (1862) 4 60 If the collection itself were a mere swindle—if it were ‘an importation from abroad’, and not the product of the island at all?
1866 W. D. Howells Venetian Life i. 4 Let us take, for example, that pathetic swindle, the Bridge of Sighs.
1882 T. G. Bowles Flotsam & Jetsam 395 As a sea the Mediterranean is a mere swindle. It is, indeed, not a sea at all, but a miserable puddle.
1921 G. K. Turner White Shoulders xv. 205 I'm a swindle from top to toe, sir. My name, the very clothes on my back—everything about me.
1999 A. Echols Scars of sweet Paradise (2000) iii. 82 His grim view of life as a big swindle, as something to be endured.
Compounds
swindle sheet n. slang (originally U.S.) an expense account; (later also more generally) any other document listing charges for goods or services, such as an invoice or time sheet.Typically with the (humorous) implication that the person or organization to whom the account, invoice, etc., is submitted is being swindled.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > written record > [noun] > other types of written record
criminal record1687
police record1773
office copy1776
geological record1811
time card1837
phylactery1855
reservation1884
press cutting1888
record1897
trace1898
swindle sheet1906
form sheet1911
Dead Sea Scrolls1949
yellow card1970
society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > account or statement of > [noun] > other types of statement
stewart-compt1580
book account1649
account stateda1683
ledger-account1738
bank statement1824
pay bill1828
cost sheet1840
average-statement1865
reconciliation statement1866
swindle sheet1906
exposure draft1971
1906 Des Moines (Iowa) Daily News 4 Oct. 5/2 All agents will hereafter mail on time their swindle sheets..or stand the consequences.
1934 J. O'Hara Appointment in Samarra ii. 42 The Apollo [hotel] got a big play from salesmen who had their swindle sheets to think of.
1936 Times Lit. Suppl. 15 Feb. 125/3 The ‘swindle-sheet’ for the average motor-car shows that 40 per cent of the fuel energy goes into the cooling water.
1960 H. L. Lawrence Children of Light v. 77 The fare's ten bob... Put it on the swindle sheet.
1971 M. Tak Truck Talk 161 Swindle sheet, the daily log book, mandatory for all drivers.
2007 Star (S. Afr.) (Nexis) 6 July 18 The talent to execute a watertight swindle sheet is the second most important talent for any journalist, the first being the ability to sniff out bad news.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
swindlev.
/ˈswɪndl/, U.S. /ˈswɪnd(ə)l/ 1. intransitive. To use deception, trickery, etc., to obtain or take something, esp. money; to engage in swindling.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > defraud or swindle [verb (intransitive)]
to pull a finchc1386
to bore a person's nose?1577
to wipe a person's nose1577
verse1591
lurch1593
to grope a gull1594
cheat1647
to lick (another's) fingers1656
to live upon the shark1694
sharp1709
fineer1765
to pluck a pigeon1769
swindle1769
to run a game1894
to sell (a person) a pup1901
scam1963
1769 [implied in: St. James's Chron. 12–14 Dec. Yet it [sc. the Note] was drawn by a Person from Chatham who did not live there, and merely an Artifice to raise Money, and in the very Spirit of what is called Swindling. (at swindling n.2 1)].
1782 Festival of Wit 108 Before the conclusion of the season, both Manager and Actors would be obliged to Swindle.
a1822 P. B. Shelley Homer's Hymn to Mercury xlix, in Posthumous Poems (1824) 311 Those Who swindle, house-break, sheep-steal, and shop-lift.
1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xxxvi. 327 Hardy English adventurers who have..swindled in all the capitals of Europe.
1901 ‘A. Forbes’ Odd Fish 31 Any one who swindles can be persecuted by the police.
1930 B. Creighton tr. V. Baum Grand Hotel 177 He had swindled for the first time in his life and in a manner that was perfectly stupid and senseless and bound to be found out.
2014 K. Timpe Free Will Philos. Theol. vi. 88 She is incapable, given her character, of freely willing to swindle for the sake of the luxurious vacation.
2.
a. transitive. To cheat (a person, group, etc.) out of something, esp. money; to defraud.
(a) Without construction.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > perpetrate (a swindle) [verb (transitive)] > defraud or swindle
defraud1362
deceivec1380
plucka1500
lurch1530
defeata1538
souse1545
lick1548
wipe1549
fraud1563
use1564
cozen1573
nick1576
verse1591
rooka1595
trim1600
skelder1602
firk1604
dry-shave1620
fiddle1630
nose1637
foista1640
doa1642
sharka1650
chouse1654
burn1655
bilk1672
under-enter1692
sharp1699
stick1699
finger1709
roguea1714
fling1749
swindle1773
jink1777
queer1778
to do over1781
jump1789
mace1790
chisel1808
slang1812
bucket1819
to clean out1819
give it1819
to put in the hole1819
ramp1819
sting1819
victimize1839
financier1840
gum1840
snakea1861
to take down1865
verneuk1871
bunco1875
rush1875
gyp1879
salt1882
daddle1883
work1884
to have (one) on toast1886
slip1890
to do (a person) in the eye1891
sugar1892
flay1893
to give (someone) the rinky-dink1895
con1896
pad1897
screw1900
short-change1903
to do in1906
window dress1913
ream1914
twist1914
clean1915
rim1918
tweedle1925
hype1926
clip1927
take1927
gazump1928
yentz1930
promote1931
to take (someone) to the cleaners1932
to carve up1933
chizz1948
stiff1950
scam1963
to rip off1969
to stitch up1970
skunk1971
to steal (someone) blind1974
diddle-
1773 Morning Chron. 22 June Town and country were swindled by favour thereof.
1828 D. M. Moir Life Mansie Wauch xx. 291 Swindling folks at fairs by the game of the garter.
1858 J. Martineau Stud. Christianity 243 Having been intrusted with the management of a bank in the Piscina publica, he swindled and ruined the depositors.
1929 Fur–Fish–Game Aug. 57/1 I have been hooked, burned, bitten, swindled and stung by many crooked dog dealers.
1967 Brit. Jrnl. Psychiatry 113 1052/2 Private practice is simply a method of making a lucrative racket out of pampering or swindling those who can afford to pay.
2014 Sun (Nexis) 16 Jan. 40 City cops reckon they have smashed a boiler room scam responsible for swindling thousands of people.
(b) With out of or (less commonly) of.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > perpetrate (a swindle) [verb (transitive)] > defraud or swindle > out of something
beguile1394
wrongc1484
delude1493
licka1500
to wipe a person's nose1577
uncle1585
cheat1597
cozen1602
to bob of1605
to bob out of1605
gull1612
foola1616
to set in the nick1616
to worm (a person) out of1617
shuffle1627
to baffle out of1652
chouse1654
trepan1662
bubble1668
trick1698
to bamboozle out of1705
fling1749
jockey1772
swindle1780
twiddle1825
to diddle out of1829
nig1829
to chisel out of1848
to beat out1851
nobble1852
duff1863
flim-flam1890
1780 Whole Proc. King's Comm. Peace (City of London & County of Middlesex) 29/1 He wished to swindle me out of this mare.
1806 Port Folio 19 Apr. 225/2 By the fraud and villany [sic] of those in whom his unsuspecting heart confided, he was swindled of half his fortune.
1872 Congress. Globe 3 Apr. 2128/2 They may hold the bonds, as has often been done in kiting corporations, and then take the property they have thus swindled the public out of.
1920 W. W. Scott Downfall of Humanity i. i. 18 It is a command of the Great Will that all Boes constantly endeavor to create great political excitement among the populace, making them believe that they are duped and swindled of their rights.
1979 Globe & Mail (Canada) (Nexis) 30 Apr. He and seven other partners were swindled out of another prospect that eventually became a gold mine, a lesson that cost him $200,000.
2014 Poetry 203 453 The Meuccis, not knowing how to speak English, are swindled out of their savings by a series of scoundrels.
b. transitive. More generally: to dupe, trick, or deceive (a person, group, etc.). Frequently with into.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > perpetrate (a swindle) [verb (transitive)] > bring into specified condition by swindling
swindle1807
1807 Crit. Rev. Sept. 43 Many emigrants have been swindled into purchases [of land] which have not answered their expectations.
1907 Cent. Mag. Sept. 756/2 ‘Got married, has he!’ ‘Oh, yes, Henry, you may laugh,..but if your poor, dear old father had been swindled into—oh, it's too dreadful to think of!’
1970 D. M. Berman & L. S. Loeb Laws & Men viii. 183 It was said that a president who had been elected on a peace platform and had then turned around to adopt the war platform of his opponent had swindled the voters.
2015 K. Linley Tempest in Context xii. 198 It is the mistake of rebels throughout history to throw off one tyranny only to be drawn or swindled into another.
3. transitive. To obtain or take (something, esp. money) by fraudulent means. Usually with from, away from, out of.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > perpetrate (a swindle) [verb (transitive)] > take by swindling
wipec1000
fleece1537
fraud1570
shark1613
boba1616
foola1616
rook1647
sharp1707
escroc1738
swindle1779
skelder1822
1779 Gazetteer & New Daily Advertiser 1 July He was likewise charged with swindling goods from several tradesmen.
1804 Revol. Plutarch II. 306 The convention of Alexandria, which Buonaparte swindled from the trembling Melas.
1847 Lit. Garland July 333/1 Oh, it is too bad that my hard earnings should be swindled away from me in this way, and leave me no redress.
1939 N. Steinberg God's Dust 98 I know you are not a doctor. You are a faker! A quack, swindling money away from poor women.
1983 ‘J. Logan’ Slocum's Justice xvi. 137 He knew very well he might have trouble with Sheridan about the extra ten he had swindled for himself.
2017 Windsor (Ont.) Star (Nexis) 15 Sept. (Early ed.) a1 The business gave her the opportunity to swindle money out of people she didn't have to get to know.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1a1500
n.21559
n.31778v.1769- to watch a person's back
- to watch a person's water
- to watch a person's watergate
- to watch a person's waters
- to watch after
- to watch and ward
- to watch in
- to watch it
- to watch on
- to watch one's back
- to watch one's p's and q's
- to watch one's step
- to watch out
- to watch over
- to watch someone's smoke
- to watch the birdie
- tobacco house
- tobacco housing
- tobacco lord
- tobacco mosaic virus
- tobacco paper
- tobacco press
- tobacco road
- tobacco roll
- tobacco shed