释义 |
con1 /kɒn /informal verb (cons, conning, conned) [with object]Persuade (someone) to do or believe something by lying to them: I conned him into giving me your home number she was jailed for conning her aunt out of £500,000...- He is charged with sending spam emails which conned people into believing that they had won millions of dollars in overseas lotteries, or inheritance, or through a business opportunity.
- It works the first time, causing the person being conned to believe that the rest of the notes will be cleaned and thus yield a fortune.
- He managed to con people into believing he was an airline pilot, a lawyer and a doctor.
nounAn instance of deceiving or tricking someone: the Charter is a glossy public relations con [as modifier]: a con artist...- Many cons and scams (throughout the world) depend on the greed and dishonesty of the victim to help the scam along.
- For those who enjoy movies about heists, cons, and double-crosses, this will satisfy.
- Homes in Writtle, Chelmsford, Springfield and Purleigh have been targeted with three cons used to trick elderly householders.
Synonyms swindle, deception, trick, racket, bit of sharp practice, fraud informal scam, con trick, sting, gyp, kite, diddle, rip-off, fiddle, swizzle, swizz North American informal bunco, boondoggle, hustle, grift Australian informal rort OriginLate 19th century (originally US): abbreviation of confidence, as in confidence trick. con2 /kɒn /nounA disadvantage of or argument against something: borrowers have to weigh up the pros and cons of each mortgage offer...- We see no doubt that the Election Commission came to its decision after bearing in mind the pros and cons of the whole situation.
- If one is balanced one can weigh the pros and cons of particular situations more easily.
- Year in and year out the same comments are trotted out as to the pros and cons of the difficulty of the tests.
OriginLate 16th century: from Latin contra 'against'. con3 /kɒn /noun informalA convict: you don’t snitch to the prison authorities on another con...- Too many characters and situations are implausible - you surely wouldn't find such a tame, gentle set of cons in any prison.
- Let all but death row cons and pedophiles join up out of prison for a pardon.
- The measure was taken in response to security concerns and is not intended to punish inmates for their fellows cons ' transgressions.
OriginLate 19th century: abbreviation. con4 /kɒn /verb (cons, conning, conned) [with object] archaicStudy attentively or learn by heart (a piece of writing): the girls conned their pages with a great show of industry...- "Set in a notebook, learned & conned by rote" From Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare.
- We hope to show that a logic-based learning method can be applied to less conned learning tasks.
- Anyone who does know something about it is more likely to have acquired that knowledge in bits by conning books (however carefully) or taking a few workshops on weekends or for a week in the summer.
OriginMiddle English cunne, conne, con, variants of can1. con5 /kɒn /noun informalA convention, especially one for science fiction enthusiasts: an SF con...- I waited until the next con and let the convention officials tell him how it would henceforth be.
- Colin, despite his general enthusiasm for cons, harbors contempt towards what he considers the illiteracy of many fans.
- The IFilm crew has a bevy of videos shot at the con, including their annual rundown of scantily-clad women.
Origincon6 /kɒn /(US also conn) Nautical verb (cons, conning, conned) [with object]Direct the steering of (a ship): he hadn’t conned anything bigger than a Boston whaler...- Then the lanky, bearded boatswain would take the helm while the captain conned the ship from one bridge wing or the other, with the chief engineer at his elbow
- Why is the term ‘bridge’ used to signify the place from where a ship is conned?
- Together they stood in the foretops and conned the ship in through the seething maelstrom of the equatorial current.
noun ( the con) The action or post of conning a ship: Mr Cargill, take the con...- For example, his combat information center officer and operations officer had the conn through most of the Suez transit.
- Now, Mr. Morton, you have the conn and I have to get back to SickBay if I'm to be there when my son is born!
- An announcement came over the intercom: ‘QM1 Grob has the conn.’
OriginEarly 17th century: apparently a weakened form of obsolete cond 'conduct, guide', from Old French conduire, from Latin conducere (see conduce). |