shyster

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Financial, Idioms, Wikipedia.

shy·ster

(shī′stər)

n. Slang

An unethical, unscrupulous practitioner, especially of law.

[Probably alteration of German Scheisser, son of a bitch, bastard, from scheissen, to defecate, from Middle High German schīzen, from Old High German skīzzan; see skei- in Indo-European roots.]

shy′ster·ism n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

shyster

(ˈʃaɪstə)

informal chiefly US a person, esp a lawyer or politician, who uses discreditable or unethical methods

[C19: probably based on Scheuster, name of a disreputable 19th-century New York lawyer]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

shy•ster

(ˈʃaɪ stər)

n.

1. a lawyer who uses unprofessional or questionable methods.

2. a person who gets along by petty, sharp practices.

[1835–45, Amer.; probably < German Scheisser, literally, defecator]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun

shyster - a person (especially a lawyer or politician) who uses unscrupulous or unethical methods

pettifogger

offender, wrongdoer - a person who transgresses moral or civil law

Translations

chicaneurenculeur de mouches

shyster

[ˈʃaɪstəʳ] N (esp US) → tramposo/a m/f, estafador(a) m/f; (= lawyer) → picapleitos mf inv sin escrúpulos

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

shyster

n (US inf) → Gauner(in) m(f); (= lawyer) → Rechtsverdreher(in) m(f) (inf)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

shyster

[ˈʃaɪstəʳ] n (Am) (fam) → lestofante m; (lawyer, politician) → filibustiere m

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

Your manner, sir, and your methods, remind me of a shyster. This is a simple case of assault and battery.

View in context

The Peugeot conference centre at Ryton hosted the event and entertainment was provided by The Shyster Theatre Company, the Gemini Cheerleaders and Simunye music group.

Decade of giving is marked by party

The group, which has eight actors and four full-time staff, is also talking to Channel 4 about a possible TV project called Shyster Street.

Apocalypso now for city drama group; SHYSTERS HEAD FOR EDINBURGH FESTIVAL WITH LATEST STAGE HIT

The earliest known instance of shyster in print occurred in 1843, in the pages of The Subterranean, a New York City weekly that concerned itself with the goings-on in and about the Tombs (the city jail) and the local courts.

Bending the law

If he calls time on shyster Farage's ambitions and lets Will in, the beers are on me.

So a publicity-seeking, beerdrinking comedian [...]

Buyers have been conned out of millions after handing over cash for luxury seaview apartments in UAE to a 'shyster developer'.

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS CONNED IN UAE

PNN Retired Supreme Court justice,Edmond Levy, took off the robe of a Supreme Court judge -- and under it was revealed a shyster, a Likud Party hack providing his client with a highly dubious, made-to-order legal opinion.

Gush Shalom: Under the Robes of Justice Levy Reveals a Shyster, Likud Party Hack, Repair a Made-To-Order Legal Opinion

In one speech he said, "Perhaps 'huckster' is not strong enough a word; 'shyster' is more appropriate, but I find on consulting the dictionary that even 'shyster' is not strong enough.

What a long, strange trip it's been ..

Mr Levi, who lives in Leeds, said he was accused of being a "shyster" who had tried to blackmail the club over money.

Ken Bates ordered to pay libel damages

Moore is nothing more than a shyster artist who uses the most basic filmmaking techniques to manipulate his audience.