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Feb 6, 2018
This week’s theme
Words to describe people

This week’s words
snollygoster
highbinder
wirepuller
four-flusher
jackleg

highbinder
Image: LoC

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

highbinder

PRONUNCIATION:
(HY-byn-duhr)

MEANING:
noun: A swindler, gangster, or a corrupt politician.

ETYMOLOGY:
After the Highbinders, a Chinese gang in New York and other cities from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s. Earliest documented use: 1806.

USAGE:
“At least 30 other states have seen their retirement investments fall. In New Mexico, some highbinders getting huge fees put plenty of money in risky investments.”
Leaders on Notice: Reform Pensions Now; The Santa Fe New Mexican; Sep 14, 2010.

See more usage examples of highbinder in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
True religion is the life we lead, not the creed we profess. -Louis Nizer, lawyer (6 Feb 1902-1994)

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