sharper
Noun pluralsharpers
Pluralsharpers
- 1Comparative form of sharp.
The new lens produced a sharper image than the old one.
His tone grew sharper as the argument dragged on.
Note
The ordinary comparative, built the regular way with -er on a one-syllable adjective. It carries every sense of sharp with it: a sharper blade, a sharper mind, a sharper taste. In music it means higher in pitch, so a singer drifting sharper is creeping above the note, not singing more cleanly. The same spelling, also sharp plus -er, names the old word for a cheat.
- 2A swindler or cheat, especially a professional gambler who makes a living by cheating.
A clever sharper emptied the other players' pockets before anyone suspected the cards were marked.
The gambling dens drew sharpers eager to prey on inexperienced players.
Similarswindler, cheat, hustler, crook
Note
A word from the age of Swift and Smollett, and it now sounds like period writing. The trickery was not confined to cards: Smollett in 1766 warns young travelers in Rome against sharpers selling pictures and antiques to the unwary. Thackeray pairs the type with its prey, the man made to be ruined. Use it for historical color or a deliberately old-fashioned voice; in plain modern prose, swindler or cheat is the safer choice.
Showing meanings only.
sharper is a form of sharp
sharp, adjective: Having a fine edge or point capable of cutting or piercing easily; not dull or rounded. Full entry
- Spelling
- sharp → sharper: add -er
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Origin
Formed from "sharp" combined with the suffix "-er".