A Grifter, is somebody who can influence anybody, anywhere, at anytime, into doing whatever they choose to have them do, that will result in the grifter's personal gain. Usually monetary, but really anything that benefits him or her somehow.
It's absolutely NOT all of these technical things that puts this person in a specific box or particular "genre" of criminal. This person can literally become anyone or anything they want to. Not nessecarily sociopathic, but I'm sure it helps to be dead inside. Learning other people and how they react to any given situation is a must, because that is the core of what a grifter is: a student of human behavior. And once they have that mastered, the world is their playground.
Con artist, scam artist, Only a real grifter will leave a person thinking that they achieved exactly what they wanted to get out of whatever endeavor was initiated by the grifter. I read other definitions and people said things like "they don't have a home of their own and they move around from place to place"... I'm sure this CAN be true, in some circumstances. But again,
You cannot pigeonhole a real grifter. They can be whoever they want to be, and that includes a person who has a normal life,
In their own home. Someone has been watching way too many movies, and the stylized depiction of a "professional" con artist, is way way too romantic for what happens in the real world. Grifter's are operators that are on the highest level of running the con game on people.
It's absolutely NOT all of these technical things that puts this person in a specific box or particular "genre" of criminal. This person can literally become anyone or anything they want to. Not nessecarily sociopathic, but I'm sure it helps to be dead inside. Learning other people and how they react to any given situation is a must, because that is the core of what a grifter is: a student of human behavior. And once they have that mastered, the world is their playground.
Con artist, scam artist, Only a real grifter will leave a person thinking that they achieved exactly what they wanted to get out of whatever endeavor was initiated by the grifter. I read other definitions and people said things like "they don't have a home of their own and they move around from place to place"... I'm sure this CAN be true, in some circumstances. But again,
You cannot pigeonhole a real grifter. They can be whoever they want to be, and that includes a person who has a normal life,
In their own home. Someone has been watching way too many movies, and the stylized depiction of a "professional" con artist, is way way too romantic for what happens in the real world. Grifter's are operators that are on the highest level of running the con game on people.
This guy wasn't your run of the mill con man. He was a grifter, running game on everybody in the room, and having the luxury of being able to pick and choose who his next mark would be. He picked that woman like he was picking low hanging fruit from a tree, and when it was all over, his pockets were full, hers were empty, and they both had smiles on their faces. You were out of your depth the moment you walked into the room and he spotted you and sized you up in all of 5 seconds.
by Fothermucker June 26, 2018
I can't believe the most common definition has been left out.
A grifter is someone who swindles you through deception or fraud.
Synonyms include fraudster, con artist, cheater, confidence man, scammer, hustler, swindler, etc.
A grifter is someone who swindles you through deception or fraud.
Synonyms include fraudster, con artist, cheater, confidence man, scammer, hustler, swindler, etc.
1) That grifter swindled me out of £250,000!
2) "The first rule of grifting is, you can't cheat an honest man."
-Quote from the BBC show "Hustle."
2) "The first rule of grifting is, you can't cheat an honest man."
-Quote from the BBC show "Hustle."
by Raging Dragon February 14, 2006
A manipulator or otherwise generally corrupt person who "games" a system, group of people, or other entity for selfish gains; especially of a political "sell-out" perceived as lacking integrity.
Phil Godlewski has been scamming people with Q Anon and Crypto all for the Freemason Flynn Cartel. He's a grifter.
by Ggtaa June 28, 2022
1)A confidence man/woman. The term was used by professional con artists in the 19th and 20th centuries to describe people in their profession. The Grifters, a 1963 noir fiction novel by Jim Thompson, portrayed a family of grifters who are all emotionally managed. . The characters describe being "on the grift" the way someone else might describe drinking and drugs. "I can stop any time I want," says Roy to his mother. .
2) (modern) A sell out in the political opinion world. This noun is increasingly used by progressives (and some conservatives) to describe people such as Candace Owens and other opinion makers whose conservatism is seen as facile and inorganic, born mostly out of of a need for corporate funding than actual convictions.
2) (modern) A sell out in the political opinion world. This noun is increasingly used by progressives (and some conservatives) to describe people such as Candace Owens and other opinion makers whose conservatism is seen as facile and inorganic, born mostly out of of a need for corporate funding than actual convictions.
1.) “As for working with a partner, he didn’t like that either. It cut the score right down the middle. It put an apple on your head, and handed the other guy a shotgun. Because grifters, it seemed, suffered an irresistible urge to beat their colleagues. There was little glory in whipping a fool—hell, fools were made to be whipped. But to take a professional, even if it cost you in the long run, ah, that was something to polish your pride.”
― Jim Thompson, The Grifters, 1963
2) "He used to be an original voice, but after meeting the Koch Brothers, the radio host underwent a personality change. Instead of nuanced analysis, he repeated well-worn right-wing talking points, causing his colleagues to suspect he had been corrupted into being a grifter.
― Jim Thompson, The Grifters, 1963
2) "He used to be an original voice, but after meeting the Koch Brothers, the radio host underwent a personality change. Instead of nuanced analysis, he repeated well-worn right-wing talking points, causing his colleagues to suspect he had been corrupted into being a grifter.
by MTyeW23 September 10, 2021
A semi-mythical video circulating on the internet, said to depict a horrific murder or occult sacrifice of newborn babies. All those who have seen the video report intense nightmares, hallucinations and psychological trauma as effects of watching it. A famous staple of /x/ and numerous other forums dedicated to the paranormal; it is rumoured to be posted on youtube occasionally, but is always quickly taken down. Whenever The Grifter enters the topic of conversation on the above-mentioned forums, people will warn against watching it, even begging you not to ruin your life.
My friend watched The Grifter for a laugh, he cut his wrists afterwards.
The Grifter is scarier than slenderman.
The Grifter is scarier than slenderman.
by DRAC250 March 12, 2011
A shill is a person who disingenuously sells a product or an idea.
By comparison, a grifter is a person who disingenuously sells a persona. A grifter purports to be or represent something, but they are actually not. They may:
* Pretend to be another ethnicity for a perceived benefit (e.g. Rachel Dolezal, Jack Murphy, Elizabeth Warren)
* Sell a life stance at odds with their actual private life (e.g. Jordan Peterson, Jack Murphy again)
* Aggressively promote some cause in advance of their personal gain (Shaun King, Patrisse Cullors)
* Scam naïve investors in a hopeless business venture (Elizabeth Holmes, Adam Neumann)
By comparison, a grifter is a person who disingenuously sells a persona. A grifter purports to be or represent something, but they are actually not. They may:
* Pretend to be another ethnicity for a perceived benefit (e.g. Rachel Dolezal, Jack Murphy, Elizabeth Warren)
* Sell a life stance at odds with their actual private life (e.g. Jordan Peterson, Jack Murphy again)
* Aggressively promote some cause in advance of their personal gain (Shaun King, Patrisse Cullors)
* Scam naïve investors in a hopeless business venture (Elizabeth Holmes, Adam Neumann)
by m0thra August 30, 2022
Loyal fans of the TNT show Leverage from Dean Devlin, John Rogers and Chris Downey and starring Oscar winner Timothy Hutton, Christian Kane, Gina Bellman, Aldis Hodge, and Beth Riesgraf. Guest stars have included Mark Sheppard, Jeri Ryans, Griffin Dunne, Wil Wheaton, Apollo Robbins, Brent Spiner, and many others, plus John Schneider and Richard Chamberlin in upcoming Season 3 episodes.
The show is a high energy, well-written, edge of your seat thrill-ride with unique characters and witty dialog. And they blow shit up! It gets under your skin and Grifters go through DTs without it causing them to flood the fansites and social networking sites looking for fellow Grifters.
Twitter is a popular hot-spot for them to hang out because the stars and crew are generous with behind the scenes videos and pictures. Grifters live for those moments! Also there are fan pages for most of the stars that Grifters frequent!
The name Grifters was given to the fans at the first Leverage convention - CON-Con - in Portland, OR 2010 by Dean Devlin. CON-Con re-enforced the fan's beliefs that the cast and crew are as kick ass as they seem making the Grifters love them more.
The show is a high energy, well-written, edge of your seat thrill-ride with unique characters and witty dialog. And they blow shit up! It gets under your skin and Grifters go through DTs without it causing them to flood the fansites and social networking sites looking for fellow Grifters.
Twitter is a popular hot-spot for them to hang out because the stars and crew are generous with behind the scenes videos and pictures. Grifters live for those moments! Also there are fan pages for most of the stars that Grifters frequent!
The name Grifters was given to the fans at the first Leverage convention - CON-Con - in Portland, OR 2010 by Dean Devlin. CON-Con re-enforced the fan's beliefs that the cast and crew are as kick ass as they seem making the Grifters love them more.
~ Dean Devlin: The runner up for the winner is - Trekkies who screw. But the winner is determined by all the voting members of Electric Entertainment, which includes me and only me. We're gonna go with Grifters.
~ Tim Hutton to the Grifters: Let’s go steal us a convention!
~ Behold the power of fangirls, Grifters, and KANIACS!
~ Tim Hutton to the Grifters: Let’s go steal us a convention!
~ Behold the power of fangirls, Grifters, and KANIACS!
by Ali07 May 1, 2010