the.com/swindle
a magic trick where your wallet disappears and the magician keeps the rabbit.
means To cheat someone out of money or property through deception or fraud.
from German hands us this one: from 'Schwindler,' a cheat or giddy person, born of the verb 'schwindeln' — to be dizzy, to reel, and by extension to tell tall tales or defraud. The root idea is light-headedness, a swimming sensation, which is why English 'swindle' is cousin to 'swoon' and 'dwindle' through the old Germanic root meaning to fade or grow faint. The word arrived in English in the late 18th century, reportedly carried in by German-Jewish immigrants in London, and the 'dizzy' sense fits perfectly — a swindler leaves you reeling, wondering where your money went.
- word origin
- from German schwindeln, to be dizzy
- oldest con
- Spanish prisoner scam predates email by centuries
- named victims
- a gullible person is called a mark
- legal flavor
- requires intent, unlike a mere bad deal
bernie madoff scheme — investment fraud that defrauded $65 billion from 4,800+ investors, uncovered 2008
enron scandal — energy company accounting fraud that collapsed in 2001, wiped out $74 billion in market value
elizabeth holmes theranos — fake blood-testing technology startup that raised $700 million before 2018 collapse