On Dec 22, 2008, at 8:10 AM, SA wrote:
>
> I'm not sure about this, but I get the feeling that the English word
> huckster is distinct because it carries the connotation of someone
> whose deceptions are sort of obvious yet manages to sucker people
> through their own will to believe. We also have the word con-man,
> but it lacks that connotation.
Wikipedia has an excellent page for huckster which contains ...
"The word was in use circa 1200 (as "huccsteress") and was spelled hukkerye, hukrie, hockerye,huckerstrye or hoxterye at one time or another. The word was still in use in England in the 1840's, when it appeared as an occupation in census returns. The word is related to the Middle Dutchhokester, hoekster and the Middle Low German hoker, but appears earlier than any of these.[1]"