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shill

 - 4 dictionary results

shill

  [shil] Slang.
Use shill in a Sentence
–noun
1. a person who poses as a customer in order to decoy others into participating, as at a gambling house, auction, confidence game, etc.
2. a person who publicizes or praises something or someone for reasons of self-interest, personal profit, or friendship or loyalty.
–verb (used without object)
3. to work as a shill: He shills for a large casino.
–verb (used with object)
4. to advertise or promote (a product) as or in the manner of a huckster; hustle: He was hired to shill a new TV show.
Origin:
1920–25; orig. uncert.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To shill
shill   (shĭl)   
n.  One who poses as a satisfied customer or an enthusiastic gambler to dupe bystanders into participating in a swindle.
v.   shilled, shill·ing, shills

v.   intr.
To act as a shill.
v.   tr.

  1. To act as a shill for (a deceitful enterprise).

  2. To lure (a person) into a swindle.


[Perhaps short for shillaber.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
shill [ʃɪl]

  1. n.
    someone planted in the crowd to urge others to buy something, participate in something, etc. : The guy's a shill! Don't fall for this setup!
  2. in.
    to advertise for something; to give a sales pitch for something. : Four stars of an old television show were there shilling for a major computer firm.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

shill 
1916, "one who acts as a decoy for a gambler, auctioneer, etc." (probably originally circus or carnival argot), probably a shortened form of shillaber (1913) with the same meaning, origin unknown. The verb is attested from 1914.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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