shy·ster (sh  st r)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 sch zen, from Old High German skzzan; see skei- in Indo-European roots.]shy ster·ism n.Word History: Calling someone a shyster might be considered libellous; knowing its probable origin adds insult to injury. According to Gerald L. Cohen, a student of the word, shyster is derived from the German term scheisser, meaning literally "one who defecates," from the verb scheissen, "to defecate," with the English suffix -ster, "one who does," substituted for the German suffix -er, meaning the same thing. Sheisser, which is chiefly a pejorative term, is the German equivalent of our English terms bastard and son of a bitch. Sheisser is generally thought to have been borrowed directly into English as the word shicer, which, among other things, is an Australian English term for an unproductive mine or claim, a sense that is also recorded for the word shyster. |
shyster [ˈʃaɪstə]
n
Informal chiefly US a person, esp a lawyer or politician, who uses discreditable or unethical methods
[probably based on Scheuster, name of a disreputable 19th-century New York lawyer]
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. |  shyster - a person (especially a lawyer or politician) who uses unscrupulous or unethical methods |
Translations
shyster [ˈʃaɪstəʳ] N (esp US) → tramposo/a m/f, estafador(a) m/f; (= lawyer) → picapleitos mf inv sin escrúpulos
shyster
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