hus·tle (h s l)v. hus·tled, hus·tling, hus·tles v.tr.1. To jostle or shove roughly. 2. To convey in a hurried or rough manner: hustled the prisoner into a van. 3. To cause or urge to proceed quickly: hustled the board into a quick decision. 4. To gain by energetic effort: hustled a hot lunch. 5. Slang a. To sell or get by questionable or aggressive means: hustled stolen watches; hustling spare change. b. To pressure into buying or doing something: a barfly hustling the other customers for drinks. c. To misrepresent one's skill in (a game or activity) in order to deceive someone, especially in gambling: hustle pool. v.intr.1. To jostle and push. 2. To work or move energetically and rapidly: We hustled to get dinner ready on time. 3. To act aggressively, especially in business dealings. 4. Slang a. To obtain something by deceitful or illicit means; practice theft or swindling. b. To solicit customers. Used of a pimp or prostitute. c. To misrepresent one's ability in order to deceive someone, especially in gambling. n.1. The act or an instance of jostling or shoving. 2. Energetic activity; drive. 3. Slang An illicit or unethical way of doing business or obtaining money; a fraud or deceit: "the most dangerous and wide-open drug hustle of them all" Newsweek.
[Dutch husselen, to shake, from Middle Dutch hustelen, frequentative of hutsen.]
hus tler n. |
hustler Noun
US informal a person who tries to make money or gain an advantage from every situation, often by immoral or dishonest means
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. | hustler - a prostitute who attracts customers by walking the streetsbawd, cocotte, cyprian, fancy woman, harlot, lady of pleasure, prostitute, sporting lady, tart, whore, woman of the street, working girl - a woman who engages in sexual intercourse for money |
| 2. | hustler - a shrewd or unscrupulous person who knows how to circumvent difficultiescolloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech wire-puller - one who uses secret influence (i.e. pulls wires or strings) for his own ends |