shyster

[shahy-ster] /ˈʃaɪ stər/
noun, Informal.
1.
a lawyer who uses unprofessional or questionable methods.
2.
a person who gets along by petty, sharp practices.
Origin
1835-45, Americanism; probably < German Scheisser, equivalent to scheiss(en) to shit + -er -er1; final -ser conformed to -ster
Related forms
shysterism, noun
Can be confused
ambulance chaser, mouthpiece, pettifogger, shyster.
Examples from the web for shyster
  • Better to have someone that understands the real impact than some shyster that only cares about money.
  • Thank you for this online warning about this shyster outfit.
British Dictionary definitions for shyster

shyster

/ˈʃaɪstə/
noun
1.
(informal, mainly US) a person, esp a lawyer or politician, who uses discreditable or unethical methods
Word Origin
C19: probably based on Scheuster, name of a disreputable 19th-century New York lawyer
Word Origin and History for shyster
n.

"unscrupulous lawyer," 1843, U.S. slang, probably altered from German Scheisser "incompetent worthless person," from Scheisse "shit" (n.), from Old High German skizzan "to defecate" (see shit (v.)).

Slang definitions & phrases for shyster

shyster

noun
  1. A dishonest and contemptible lawyer, politician, or businessperson: You lousy little shyster bastard (1844+)
  2. Any lawyer

[origin unknown and hotly disputed; perhaps fr the name of a Mr Sheuster, a New York City lawyer of the early 1800s; perhaps fr German Scheisse, ''shit,'' or Scheisser, ''shitter,'' by way of anglicized forms shice and shicer attested fr the mid-1800s, with the addition of the agentive suffix -ster; perhaps because prisoners were said and advised to fight shy of, ''avoid,'' lawyers who frequented jails, esp the Tombs in New York City; perhaps fr earlier sense of shy, ''disreputable, not quite honest,'' and -ster]