hustler
(ˈhʌslə(r))
[f. hustle v. + -er1.]
1. One who takes part in hustling a person; one of a gang of pickpockets who work on this plan. Also, a thief, a criminal; one who makes his living dishonestly or by begging; a pimp. slang.
| 1825 Knapp & Baldw. Newgate Cal. IV. 295/2 Known as a hustler. 1914 Jackson & Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang 47 Hustler,..a grafter; a pimp who steals betimes. The genteel thief is designated a ‘hustler’. 1926 Clues Nov. 161/2 Hustler, members of the underworld in general. 1953 W. Burroughs Junkie (1972) 158 Pop corn, someone with a legitimate job, as opposed to a ‘hustler’ or thief. 1957 C. MacInnes City of Spades ii. ix. 164 They's wreckage of jazz musicians.., ponces, and other hustlers like myself... I pimp around the town, picking the pounds up where I can. 1972 Observer 20 Aug. 7/4 Once, the hustler was the odd man out. |
2. a. orig. U.S. An extremely energetic or ‘pushing’ person. Also, a salesman, esp. one who is energetic or aggressive. b. U.S. A ‘hustling’ storm.
| 1882 T. G. Bowles Flotsam & Jetsam (1883) 245 The sky..had that dull, leaden, greasy look which usually portends a real good hustler. 1886 Publishers' Weekly 18 Dec. 965/1 Young man, a ‘hustler’ in every respect, wants a strictly first-class position with a ‘live’ book house. 1890 Pall Mall G. 5 Mar. 7/2 They have a word here to describe the typical New York man. They say he is a hustler. It..means a person in a condition of nervous hurry, and they are all hustlers here. 1891 Grip (Toronto) 18 Mar. 254/1 An enterprising down East Hustler lately conceived the idea of crowding the ‘Best Fifty Books’ into one volume, and selling the same by subscription. 1907 F. H. Burnett Shuttle xxiii. 235 I'm not passing myself off as anything but an ordinary business hustler..—just under salesman to a typewriter concern. 1907 Westm. Gaz. 6 Sept. 4/1 His proper title is The Hustler, and his real business is to hustle from morning till night every man and woman..connected with the business. 1926 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 10 Jan. 32/3 (Advt.), Hustler wanted, 25 years or older, to sell a high-grade appliance. 1954 A. M. Bezanson Sodbusters invade Peace 194 Chris was a hustler, and brought to our partnership a type of aggressiveness I lacked. 1971 Black World Apr. 38/1 He pulls in {pstlg}1,500 some weeks, and he's a small-time hustler. |
c. A prostitute. slang.
| 1924 G. C. Henderson Keys to Crookdom 408 Hustler, prostitute. 1929 D. Hammett Red Harvest iii. 27 ‘Who is this Dinah Brand?’..‘A soiled dove..a de luxe hustler, a big-league gold-digger.’ 1952 J. Steinbeck East of Eden 436 They would think she was just a buzzed old hustler. 1960 P. Goodman Growing up Absurd (1961) ix. 194 The juvenile delinquents, like the hustlers (male prostitutes), fancy themselves as movie heroes in sports cars. 1970 Women Speaking Apr. 4/2 Man keeps her on the defensive by a constant barrage of insulting words that describe her in sexual terms:..hustler, slut. |