shyster
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shyster
- /ˈʃaɪs.tə(ɹ)/ UK
- /ˈʃaɪs.tɚ/ US
Where it comes from
US origin, 19th century. The etymology of the word is not generally agreed upon. The Oxford English Dictionary describes it as "of obscure origin," possibly deriving from a historical sense of shy meaning "disreputable", equivalent to shy + -ster. Other sources suggest the word derives from shicer, from the German Scheißer (“incompetent worthless person”), from scheißen (“to defecate”), probably influenced by -ster. Not related to shylock.
noun shysters · schister · scheister · sheister · schyster · shister
-
Someone who acts in a disreputable, unethical, or unscrupulous way, especially in the practice of law and politics.
True, it was a good advertisement at Boosters' Club lunches, and all the varieties of Annual Banquets to which Good Fellows were invited, to speak sonorously of […] a thing called Ethics, whose nature was confusing but if you had it you were a High-class Realtor and if you hadn't you were a shyster,
Similar: pettifogger
verb shysters · shystering · shystered · schister · scheister
- To act in a disreputable, unethical, or unscrupulous way, especially in the practice of law and politics.
- To exploit (someone or something) in this way.
Translations
Every language
noun someone who acts in a disreputable, unethical, or unscrupulous way
| Français | avocaillon, chicaneur |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Gauner, Rechtsverdreher, Winkeladvokat |
| Ελληνικά | δικολάβος dikolávos |
| Русский | мерзавец merzavec, мерзавка merzavka |
Talk about this word "shyster." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/shyster. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. shyster. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/shyster "shyster." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/shyster.Cite this
@misc{shyster_2026,
title = {shyster},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/shyster},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
