wildcatter

[wahyld-kat-er] /ˈwaɪldˌkæt ər/
noun
1.
an oil prospector.
2.
a person who promotes risky or unsound business ventures.
3.
a person who participates in a wildcat strike.
Origin
1880-85, Americanism; wildcat + -er1
Examples from the web for wildcatter
  • Each began his foray into oil as a wildcatter, striking it rich through a combination of intuition and bravado.
  • The policy is rather disturbing to the professional wildcatter, but makes for honest mining.
  • The day of the wildcatter and his weird promotion is a tale that is told.
British Dictionary definitions for wildcatter

wildcatter

/ˈwaɪldˌkætə/
noun
1.
(US & Canadian, informal) a prospector for oil or ores in areas having no proved resources