huckster

UK /ˈhʌkstɚ/ US /ˈhʌkstɚ/
noun 4verb 3

Definitions

noun

1

A peddler or hawker, who sells small items, either door-to-door, from a stall, or in the street.

drive those china hucksters from the doors

2

Somebody who sells things in an aggressive or showy manner.

Like most human activities, ballooning has sponsored heroes and hucksters and a good deal in between. For every dedicated scientist patiently recording atmospheric pressure and wind speed while shivering at high altitudes, there is a carnival barker with a bevy of pretty girls willing to dangle from a basket or parachute down to earth.

3

One who deceptively sells fraudulent products; snake oil salesman.

4

Somebody who writes advertisements for radio or television.

verb

1

To haggle, to wrangle, or to bargain.

2

To sell or offer (goods) from place to place, to peddle.

3

To promote or sell (goods) in an aggressive, showy manner.

[…] Paul Zindel aroused the hope that he might be a playwright in the Williams mode, one who could cast a kindly light in the dark corners of twisted souls. That is precisely the hope dashed by his latest play, The Secret Affairs of Mildred Wild. Here he is simply huckstering kookdom for cheap laughs, and not producing many of them at that.

Your note

not saved
0 chars