trickster
English
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Etymology
editNoun
edittrickster (plural tricksters)
- (mythology, literature) Any of numerous figures featuring in various mythologies and folk traditions, who use guile and secret knowledge to challenge authority and play tricks and pranks on others with their acts of trickery; any similar figure in literature.
- 1991, Alan R. Velie (compiler and editor), American Indian Literature: An Anthology, Revised edition, page 44,
- The trickster is one of the oldest and most widespread of mythological and literary figures. […] As the name implies, the trickster is, on one level—probably the most important—an amoral practical joker who wanders about playing pranks on unsuspecting victims […] With all the fluctuations, certain things about the trickster are predictable: he is always a wanderer, always hungry, and usually oversexed.
- Tricksters abound in folktales […] .
- 2015, J. Douglas Canfield, Tricksters and Estates: On the Ideology of Restoration Comedy[1], page 31:
- And let us begin with those sympathetic elements, the tricksters who obtain the lovers and the land, always at the expense of fools and knaves, sometimes at the expense of other tricksters.
- 1991, Alan R. Velie (compiler and editor), American Indian Literature: An Anthology, Revised edition, page 44,
- One who plays tricks or pranks on others.
- A skilled trickster knows how to outsmart their enemies with ease.
- One who performs tricks (parts of a magician' act or entertainingly difficult physical actions).
- An impish or playful person.
- A fraud (person who performs a trick for the purpose of unlawful gain).
Synonyms
editRelated terms
editTranslations
editmythological or literary figure
one who plays tricks on others
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one who performs tricks
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impish or playful person
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fraud — see fraud
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Verb
edittrickster (third-person singular simple present tricksters, present participle trickstering, simple past and past participle trickstered)
- (intransitive) To engage in the antics of a trickster; to play tricks.
