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pyramid scheme

A fraudulent business model, illegal in most places, in which participants are paid to recruit more participants, rather than commissions on sales.

Frequently passed off as Multi-Level Marketing by incorporating sales of an unmarketable product or service into the scheme. In such cases, participants are usually required to maintain a monthly purchase quota to qualify for payments.
Pyramid schemes market to prospective participants while Multi-Level Marketing plans market to prospective consumers. Pyramid schemes fail because scam participants are not a viable market. Most of the participants pay more money to participate than they receive for participating because there aren't enough suckers left to recruit.

Once the suckers figure that out and quit paying into the scheme, those who recruited them start losing money too, and then they quit. The scam shrivels even faster than it grew.
by Downstrike September 9, 2004
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Cream Scheme

1. A systematic plan or course of action (scheme) to acquire money (cream). Everyone has a Cream Scheme because everyone has some sort of plan to acquire what they need to survive and thrive in the world. Whether a person is a street hustler, a 9-to-5 professional, or a CEO, they have a Cream Scheme.

2. An apparel brand founded in 2013 that speaks to the reality detailed above. Cream Scheme encourages hard work, entrepreneurship, and critical thinking as it subverts dominant narratives of what is and what isn't legitimate in terms of careers and professions.
Whether you are Mark Zuckerberg, Jamie Dimon, Pablo Escobar, Nino Brown, or Johnny from around the corner, you have a Cream Scheme.
by JFocus September 25, 2014
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Grand scheme of the universe

The ultimate way of life, events, and all parts of this world and this universe. Many define part of this with their religion, or any religion can use this as just a metaphysical way to describe fate and sequence of events.

Usually used to describe something very small and unimportant and how it relates to "the big picture".
Dude to dude: "I mean really, in the grand scheme of the universe, how much is breaking up with Shannon?"
by geniusonwheels September 28, 2009
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ponzi scheme

see social security.
A scam involving paying off money to old investors with new investors' money. Eventally the last group of people paying into the scam never get their money back.
Bill: Hey Will, what's this line on my paycheck that says "Social security"?
Will: It's the government's ponzi scheme. You'll never see that money again.
by Pseu D. Onym October 11, 2010
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Scheme-shot

When you're texting your friends about someone who was scheming on you through texting, Facebook, instagram or snapchat you might say "send me a scheme-shot". This is basically just screenshotting what ever scheming was happening.
Girl 1: Omg his fb messages were creepy af
Girl 2: was he scheming?
Girl 1: yeah hold on ill send u a scheme-shot
by Mr.keith March 31, 2015
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aj scheme

Schemin on the low; to scheme in the thought that you will not get caught
Who took my lighter? Prolly an act of Aj Scheme.
by PartyAtMango August 19, 2014
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Attention Span Ponzi Scheme

An Attention Span Ponzi Scheme is a system of recruitment of people to pay attention to a topic. People recruited to the topic are then encouraged to drag in the attention spans of others.

The entire system collapses when everyone realizes that the topic is bankrupt of value to be discussed in the first place.
Examples of Attention Span Ponzi Schemes include chain letters, time-wasting Facebook applications, and any social reference group that is based on recruiting others to participate or play for the subject to have sustained interest.
by GarethBeaumains March 12, 2009
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