shyster

(s̸hīstər)

noun

Slang a person, esp. a lawyer, who uses unethical or tricky methods; pettifogger

Origin: earlier shuyster, prob. altered < Ger scheisser, defecator

See shyster in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
Slang
An unethical, unscrupulous practitioner, especially of law.

Origin:

Origin: Probably alteration of German Scheisser, son of a bitch, bastard

Origin: , from scheissen, to defecate

Origin: , from Middle High German schīzen

Origin: , from Old High German skīzzan; see skei- in Indo-European roots

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Related Forms:

  • shyˈster·ism noun
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.

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