"schvindler"

[Alison Murie]

On Mar 29, 2009, at 6:45 PM, Jocelyn Limpert wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jocelyn Limpert <jocelyn.limpert at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      "schvindler"
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>
> Does anyone like, use, or know the history of  the following  
> yiddishism, if
> it is indeed that (sounds like it to me) for Bernie Madoff:   
> "schvindler"?
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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New Oxford American Dictionary has the following:
swindler |ˈswɪndlər| noun
ORIGIN late 18th cent.: back-formation from swindler, from German  
Schwindler ‘extravagant
makerof schemes, swindler,’ from schwindeln ‘be giddy,’ also  
[tell lies.]
AM
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org