gyp

A term you probably want to eject from your vocabulary is gyp, slang for “to cheat” or “a cheat.” It is a shortening of the word gypsy, an often derogatory term for the Roma, a nomadic people who have been stereotyped as being swindlers or con artists. Read our Usage Note for even more context on gyp.

If knowing the history of gyp has got you reflecting on your word choices, this slideshow, “These Common Words Have Offensive Histories,” discusses many other words whose place in your vocab you may want to reconsider. 

You don’t have to insult an ethnic group to refer to cheating. English has more alternatives for gyp than we can include here.

In place of gyp as a verb, consider:

• bamboozle
• defraud
• dupe
• flimflam
• fool
• hoodwink
• hustle
• scam
• swindle

In place of gyp as a noun, try fraud, racket, rip-off, con, and sham, to name a few.

And in place of gyp as a term for a person running a shady operation, use charlatan, con artist, crook, double-dealer, swindler, or thief.

Plenty more substitutes for gyp can be found a quick click away at Thesaurus.com. Start with cheat and fraud. Both of these do double duty (not double-dealing) as nouns and verbs for various duplicitous endeavors.