This week’s theme
Words to describe people

This week’s words
pseudologue
adventurist
chicaner


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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(shi-KAY-nuhr)

MEANING:

noun:
1. One who uses deception, especially in a legal, financial, or political context.
2. One who raises petty objections; a quibbler.

ETYMOLOGY:

From French chicaneur (quibbler). Earliest documented use: 1673.

NOTES:

A pickpocket takes your wallet when you aren’t looking. A chicaner convinces you to hand it over, sign a waiver, and thank them for lightening your load. The verb form is chicane, and the practice is chicanery.

USAGE:

“[The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s] sole purpose is to make sure the deck isn’t stacked in favor of chicaners and cheats.”
Catherine Rampell; The Rise of the Con-Man Economy; The Washington Post; Nov 29, 2016.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: