Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

bull con

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.01 in modern English

Syllables: bul-l -con
IPA

11

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A confidence trick, or deceptive speech by a swindler.

Obsolete; Slang

Example Sentences

"Dem guys has got t’ show me somet’in’ before I’ll stan’ fer dem tales dey tell. I t’ink it’s all de bull con."
"Like most fellows who stay in the West long, Allen was a great bull-con man (hot air man). […] I hadn't been in the West long, and the poorest kind of bull-con dealer found in me an easy mark."
"Every man who makes his living by peddling "bull con" can be put down as an enemy of liberty. The "bull con" artists are pretty plentiful yet."

Etymology

Compound of bull (“lies; insincere talk”) + con (“a confidence trick; fraud”). Attested from the late 19th century.

Usage

Inflected Forms

bull cons (plural) bull-con (alternative)

Questions

What does bull con mean?: A confidence trick, or deceptive speech by a swindler.
Where does bull con come from?: Compound of bull (“lies; insincere talk”) + con (“a confidence trick; fraud”). Attested from the late 19th century.

How to pronounce bull con

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