Meaning of spiv | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A smartly dressed person who trades in illicit, black-market or stolen goods, especially during World War II.
   Ireland, UK, historical
2. A flashy con artist, often homeless, who lives by his wits.
   Ireland, UK, dated
3. A low and common thief.
   Ireland, UK, dated
4. A slacker; one who shirks responsibility.
   Ireland, UK, dated

Equivalents

Examples

“I mean, Mayfair is just top spivs stepping into the slippers of the former gentry, and Belgravia, like I've said, is all flats in houses built as palaces, and Chelsea—well!”

“It was Robeson who introduced me to the other blacks in New York, the Show Boat cast, the hangers-on, girlfriends, spivs, and bookies. "My people," he called them, "my brothers and sisters" […]”

“I make no apology for attacking spivs and gamblers who did more harm to the British economy than [transport union leader] Bob Crow could achieve in his wildest Trotskyite fantasies, while paying themselves outrageous bonuses underwritten by the taxpayer.”

CEFR level