shill
A person paid to endorse a product while pretending to be impartialA person paid to endorse a product while pretending to be impartial.
» May I have a shilling, sir?
Можете дати мені шилінг, пане?
Meaning
4 sensesA person paid to endorse a product while pretending to be impartial.
carnival barkers and their shills, fleecing the rubes
Anreißer, Anreißerin
подставно́е лицо́podstavnóje licó, подсадна́я у́ткаpodsadnája útka
(derogatory)Any person enthusiastically endorsing a product; especially, one who is getting paid for the endorsement.
On the screen, there was that quack again, playing the shill for yet another drug company.
An accomplice at a confidence trick during an auction or gambling game, such as an accomplice of the seller who bids to drive up the price.
Near-synonyms: inside man, potted plant (contextually synonymous)
Sniping is necessary because if you bid before the last minute it just gives the shills more time to screw you over.
Lockvogel, Gehilfe des Schaustellers, Gehilfe des Hausierers
соо́бщникsoóbščnik, соуча́стникsoučástnik
A house player in a casino.
- a decoy who acts as an enthusiastic customer in order to stimulate the participation of others
Examples
18 sentencesMay I have a shilling, sir?
Можете дати мені шилінг, пане?
I gave the boy a shilling.
deIch hab dem Jungen einen Schilling gegeben.
Jackson strikes me as a shill.
He handed each of them a shilling.
deEr gab jedem einen Schilling.
I gave a shilling to the boy.
Translations
6 languagesBy meaning 2
By meaning 2
Origin
Unknown; attested as verb 1914, as noun 1916. Perhaps an abbreviation of shillaber, attestUnknown; attested as verb 1914, as noun 1916. Perhaps an abbreviation of shillaber, attested 1913. The word entered English via carny, originally denoting a carnival worker who pretends to be a member of the audience in an attempt to elicit interest in an attraction.
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