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Shyster vs Shylock - What's the difference?

shyster | shylock |

As nouns the difference between shyster and shylock

is that shyster is someone who acts in a disreputable, unethical, or unscrupulous way, especially in the practice of law and politics while shylock is a loan shark; a usurer.

As a verb shylock is

to lend money at exorbitant rates of interest.

As a proper noun Shylock is

a fictional character who was a moneylender (Jewish stereotype) in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice.

shyster

English

Alternative forms

* schister, scheister, sheister, schyster, shister, shaista, shiester, schiester

Noun

(en noun)
  • Someone who acts in a disreputable, unethical, or unscrupulous way, especially in the practice of law and politics.
    • Polly' (to security guard, referring to Dr. Feingarten): Are you going to let that ' shyster in there?
    Dr. Feingarten': I could sue you, Polly. A ' shyster is a disreputable lawyer. I'm a quack.
    - From the motion picture

    References

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    Anagrams

    *

    shylock

    English

    (wikipedia shylock)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (US) A loan shark; a usurer.
  • (offensive, ethnic slur) Offensive term for a person of Jewish descent.
  • * 2005 , Joe Pistone, The Way of the Wiseguy , page 45,
    • Eventually, their gambling debts grow so big that they are cut off from making any more bets, eliminating the chance that they can make enough money to satisfy their shylocks .
  • * 2009 , G. T. Harrell, For Members Only: The Story of the Mob's Secret Judge, A True Story , page 229,
    • If a guy got into hock with several shylocks' from different crews and was unable to keep up with his weekly payments, a sit-down would have to be called with all of the ' shylocks involved and their respective capos.
  • * 2013 , , Light of the World , page 429,
    • After Caspian's father killed his credit lines at all the big casinos, he ran up a six-figure tab with a couple of shylocks in Miami, then couldn't make the vig.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (US) To lend money at exorbitant rates of interest.
  • * 2004 December 8, Kenya National Assembly Official Record (Hansard) , page 4928,
    • I wanted to know whether shylocking is a legal business or not, and if it is legal, under which Act does it operate?
  • * 2005 , Tom Layne, The Assassination of Rush Limbaugh , page 151,
    • When you've accumulated a good stash of money, you may want to go into the nightclub business, or shylocking'. ' Shylocking is free. There is no ten percent vig on loan sharking.
  • * 2005 , , 2010, unnumbered page,
    • Lori said it sounded outright felonious, but Dad said all he was doing was outsmarting the fat-cat bank owners who shylocked the common man by charging usurious interest rates.
  • * 2011 , John Nicholas Iannuzzi, Handbook of Cross Examination: The Mosaic Art , 3rd Edition, page 312,
    • Do you recall this question having been put to you—the shylocking business you were involved in continued right up until the time that you were arrested, correct?