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Confidence game   /kˈɑnfədəns geɪm/   Listen
noun
Confidence  n.  
1.
The act of confiding, trusting, or putting faith in; trust; reliance; belief; formerly followed by of, now commonly by in. "Society is built upon trust, and trust upon confidence of one another's integrity." "A cheerful confidence in the mercy of God."
2.
That in which faith is put or reliance had. "The Lord shall be thy confidence."
3.
The state of mind characterized by one's reliance on himself, or his circumstances; a feeling of self-sufficiency; such assurance as leads to a feeling of security; self-reliance; often with self prefixed. "Your wisdom is consumed in confidence; Do not go forth to-day." "But confidence then bore thee on secure Either to meet no danger, or to find Matter of glorious trial."
4.
Private conversation; (pl.) secrets shared; as, there were confidences between them. "Sir, I desire some confidence with you."
Confidence game, any swindling operation in which advantage is taken of the confidence reposed by the victim in the swindler; several swindlers often work together to create the illusion of truth; also called con game.
Confidence man, a swindler.
To take into one's confidence, to admit to a knowledge of one's feelings, purposes, or affairs.
Synonyms: Trust; assurance; expectation; hope. "I am confident that very much be done."
5.
Trustful; without fear or suspicion; frank; unreserved. "Be confident to speak, Northumberland; We three are but thyself."
6.
Having self-reliance; bold; undaunted. "As confident as is the falcon's flight Against a bird, do I with Mowbray fight."
7.
Having an excess of assurance; bold to a fault; dogmatical; impudent; presumptuous. "The fool rageth and is confident."
8.
Giving occasion for confidence. (R.) "The cause was more confident than the event was prosperous."



Game  n.  
1.
Sport of any kind; jest, frolic. "We have had pastimes here, and pleasant game."
2.
A contest, physical or mental, according to certain rules, for amusement, recreation, or for winning a stake; as, a game of chance; games of skill; field games, etc. "But war's a game, which, were their subject wise, Kings would not play at." Note: Among the ancients, especially the Greeks and Romans, there were regularly recurring public exhibitions of strength, agility, and skill under the patronage of the government, usually accompanied with religious ceremonies. Such were the Olympic, the Pythian, the Nemean, and the Isthmian games.
3.
The use or practice of such a game; a single match at play; a single contest; as, a game at cards. "Talk the game o'er between the deal."
4.
That which is gained, as the stake in a game; also, the number of points necessary to be scored in order to win a game; as, in short whist five points are game.
5.
(Card Playing) In some games, a point credited on the score to the player whose cards counts up the highest.
6.
A scheme or art employed in the pursuit of an object or purpose; method of procedure; projected line of operations; plan; project. "Your murderous game is nearly up." "It was obviously Lord Macaulay's game to blacken the greatest literary champion of the cause he had set himself to attack."
7.
Animals pursued and taken by sportsmen; wild meats designed for, or served at, table. "Those species of animals... distinguished from the rest by the well-known appellation of game."
Confidence game. See under Confidence.
To make game of, to make sport of; to mock.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Confidence game" Quotes from Famous Books



... left orphans when very young, and Mart began to go to the bad at once. It commenced with robbing birds' nests and orchards, and ended with the confidence game for which he was last sent to jail. That is the reason I use my pen name always. I wonder if you believe what I am ...
— Two Boys and a Fortune • Matthew White, Jr.

... serious a matter always baffle the theologians of Rome. They owe the world an answer on these questions for four hundred years. Is the world doing Rome an injustice when it regards the sale of indulgences a pure confidence game in holy disguise, the offer of a fictitious value for good cash, the boldest and baldest gold-bricking that mankind has heen [tr. ...
— Luther Examined and Reexamined - A Review of Catholic Criticism and a Plea for Revaluation • W. H. T. Dau

... difference if the miners once get it into their heads that the girls are being used to put over a confidence game on them," Helen argued authoritatively. "Miners are peculiar people, especially if they are lead by radical leaders of aggressive purpose. They believe that they are a badly misused set, turning out the wealth of the wealthy, who repay them by holding them in contempt, keeping their wages down ...
— Campfire Girls in the Allegheny Mountains - or, A Christmas Success against Odds • Stella M. Francis

... is a confidence game. We came to be amused, and this fellow instructs in sociology. We didn't cough up two dollars to listen to a sermon; we came to be rested. There's trouble enough in the street without displaying it in a place of amusement. The fellow ...
— The Light of the Star - A Novel • Hamlin Garland

... police, or why the disguise?" he queried pleasantly. He picked up Mrs. De Peyster's pearl pendant. "Housekeepers don't sport this kind of jewelry. What are you? Housebreakers—sneak thieves—confidence game?" ...
— No. 13 Washington Square • Leroy Scott



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