confidence game
noun
any swindle in which the swindler, after gaining the confidence of the victim, robs the victim by cheating at a gambling game, appropriating funds entrusted for investment, or the like.
Also called,
British,
confidence trick.
Origin of confidence game
An Americanism dating back to 1855–60
Words nearby confidence game
confetti,
confidant,
confidante,
confide,
confidence,
confidence game,
confidence interval,
confidence level,
confidence limits,
confidence man,
confidence trick
Example sentences from the Web for confidence game
The state attorney's office co-operates with us by enforcing the confidence-game statute.
A Stake in the Land |Peter Alexander Speek
Idioms and Phrases with confidence game
confidence game
Also, confidence trick; con game. A swindle in which the victim is defrauded after his or her trust has been won. For example, The police warned of a confidence game in which people were asked to turn over valuables for a so-called appraisal, or The typical confidence trick is easy to spot if you know what to look for, or I almost let myself be taken in by her con game—she seemed so sincere. These terms, which use confidence in the sense of “trust,” date from the mid-1800s. They also gave rise to confidence man (or con man) for the swindler.