Sharpers

Sharpers are individuals who engage in sharp practice—deception or cunning used to obtain money or property through trickery. The term is chiefly historical and literary, common in 18th- to 19th-century Britain and the United States. A sharper is someone who uses social engineering, misrepresentation, and quick talk to win a victim’s confidence and then exploit that trust. Sharp practice denotes unethical dealing, especially in commerce, gambling, or sales.

Common techniques associated with sharpers include confidence tricks, bait-and-switch, misrepresentation, counterfeit currency, padding, and other fraud schemes. They often rely on disguises, plausible but false promises, and a sense of urgency or familiarity to lower the target’s defenses. In gambling contexts, sharper and sharp are terms used for those who seek to gain an edge through deception, reading tells, or manipulating games.

In modern usage, sharpers is rarely used in everyday speech; more common terms include con artist, fraudster, card sharp, or card shark. Legally, activities associated with sharp practice can be criminal (fraud, theft, or conspiracy) or merely unethical, depending on jurisdiction and the specifics of the act. Historical accounts and criminology texts often study sharpers to illustrate how fraud relies on social manipulation and misdirection.

Related terms include card sharp, card shark, con artist, confidence trick, and fraud. Sharpers are primarily of historical interest today, though the concept remains relevant to discussions of deception and ethics in markets and interpersonal interactions.