gombeen
A wheeler-dealer profiteer; the village loan shark archetype.
Definitions
Originally the village money-lender squeezing the poor — the 'gombeen man' of 19th-century rural Ireland. Now broadened to any small-time chancer or shady operator out for themselves. In Irish politics, 'gombeenism' is the standard slur for grubby local backhanders.
gombeen In A Sentence
Origin & Usage
From Irish 'gaimbín' — usury, excessive interest.
Comments 0