💸 Grift Is a Kind of Corruption
GRIFT most nearly means: A) bequest; B) swindle; C) reverie; D) bombast. Answer inside. 👉️
Grift is just a way to steal money, but typically in clever ways or way that most people won’t notice; the word doesn’t connote violence. For example, if a company wins a contract to build a library, but adds extra expenses to pay for the owner’s new car, that’s a grift.
📚️ Definition of Grift
Grift (noun or verb): As a noun, a scheme to swindle people out of money, often through deception or fraud; as a verb, to obtain money dishonestly through such a scheme. Example: a long-running grift targeting the elderly.
🗣️ Pronunciation of Grift
IPA: /ɡrɪft/ (See IPA key)
Phonetic: GRIFT
📰 Examples of Grift
Here are some examples of the word grift:
Slick Sammy ran an effective grift advertising a popular new car to get buyers in the door, but then telling people when they arrived that that car had already been sold.
The word grift comes from early 20th-century American carnival slang; carnival workers would trick naive customers with rigged games, many of which are still popular today.
On why grift exists: “There’s a sucker born every minute, and two to take his place.” — attributed to various con artists of the carnival era.
🗣️ Common Collocations of Grift
A collocation is a group of words often found together in usage, for example figment of one’s imagination, extenuating circumstances, or inclement weather.
run a grift
the long grift
an elaborate grift
Quiz answer: B, swindle.