# Cunning linguistics **URL:** \ **Category:** Everything else\ **Created:** [October 2, 2026, 3:18am UTC](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/t/cunning-linguistics/265 "2026-10-02T03:18:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stargazer](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/user_avatar/forum.thehighwaystar.com/stargazer/32/37_2.png) [@Stargazer](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/u/Stargazer)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 3:18am UTC](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/t/cunning-linguistics/265/1 "2026-10-02T03:18:50Z")
Speaking of cigars … [![](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/uploads/default/original/1X/875871bad5bf514634f98666c837a18489487a5f.jpeg "Bill Clinton I did not have sexual relations with that woman") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K-VoGJtbWU) ---
**Author:** ![nick](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/user_avatar/forum.thehighwaystar.com/nick/32/18_2.png) [@nick](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/u/nick)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 7:05pm UTC](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/t/cunning-linguistics/265/2 "2026-10-02T19:05:23Z")
The word _shyster_ comes to mind… > shyster /shī′stər/ > > ### noun > > 1. An unethical, unscrupulous practitioner, especially of law. > 2. A trickish knave; one who carries on any business, especially legal business, in a mean and dishonest way. > 3. Someone who acts in a [disreputable](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=disreputable+definition&ia=definition), [unethical](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=unethical+definition&ia=definition), or [unscrupulous](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=unscrupulous+definition&ia=definition) way, especially in the practice of [law](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=law+definition&ia=definition) and [politics](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=politics+definition&ia=definition). > > The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition • ---
**Author:** ![Stargazer](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/user_avatar/forum.thehighwaystar.com/stargazer/32/37_2.png) [@Stargazer](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/u/Stargazer)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 8:18pm UTC](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/t/cunning-linguistics/265/3 "2026-10-02T20:18:34Z")
That sounds a lot like Yiddish and probably is! 🤗 ---
**Author:** ![nick](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/user_avatar/forum.thehighwaystar.com/nick/32/18_2.png) [@nick](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/u/nick)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 10:56pm UTC](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/t/cunning-linguistics/265/4 "2026-10-02T22:56:29Z")
Yiddish gave English a lot of colourful words and expressions, but apparently _shyster_ is not one of them. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shyster#Etymology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shyster#Etymology) > The etymology of the word is not generally agreed upon. The _[Oxford English Dictionary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary "Oxford English Dictionary")_ describes it as “of obscure origin”, possibly deriving from a historical sense of “shy” meaning disreputable.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shyster#cite_note-1) > > The _[Merriam-Webster Dictionary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merriam-Webster "Merriam-Webster")_ deemed it probably based on the German _Scheißer_ (literally “shitter”, i.e. “defecator”[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shyster#cite_note-merriamwebster-2)). A book published in 2013 traces the first use back to 1843, when scammers in New York City would exploit prisoners by pretending to be lawyers. These scammers were disparagingly referred to as “shisers”, meaning “worthless people” in British slang, which in turn was originally derived from the German “Scheißer”.[[3]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shyster#cite_note-3) ---
**Author:** ![Stargazer](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/user_avatar/forum.thehighwaystar.com/stargazer/32/37_2.png) [@Stargazer](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/u/Stargazer)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2026, 3:50am UTC](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/t/cunning-linguistics/265/5 "2026-10-03T03:50:40Z")
I could have sworn, it reminded me of _miser._ German has a lot of words of Yiddish (in itself a mix of Old German, Polish and Hebrew) origin too: _Massel_ (luck), _Schlamassel_ (we’re in “deep shit”), _malochen_ (to work hard, especially physically), _meschugge_ (nuts as in crazy), _schmusen_ (to caress), _Mischpoke_ (jokingly derogatory for family and relatives, “my pack”), _Ganove_ (crook), _Tacheles reden_ (to put it in “plain English”). When I hear someone speaking Yiddish, I can generally understand every third or fourth word and more often than not get the gist of what the speaker is saying. ---
**Author:** ![MacGregor](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/user_avatar/forum.thehighwaystar.com/macgregor/32/52_2.png) [@MacGregor](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/u/MacGregor)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2026, 5:59am UTC](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/t/cunning-linguistics/265/6 "2026-10-03T05:59:27Z")
My Dutch lady friend here in Australia used that ‘shyster’ word occasionally. Never towards me of course, he he he. I will ask her when she returns from her holiday where she got it from. On an even more serious note though, it seems to be associated with ‘lawyers’, hmmmmmm, interesting indeed. Cheers. ---
**Author:** ![MacGregor](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/user_avatar/forum.thehighwaystar.com/macgregor/32/52_2.png) [@MacGregor](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/u/MacGregor)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2026, 6:30am UTC](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/t/cunning-linguistics/265/7 "2026-10-03T06:30:10Z")
The ‘northern’ area in this article mentions the Dutch, so that may be a link no doubt. I have sent her a text to query that, probably word they picked up at school. On a much more serious note, if Uwe has been using Yiddish all these years here at THS, that would explain why no one has been able to understand a damn word that he has ever said here. I don’t know why Uwe couldn’t have explained that to us in the first instance, then everything would have been much clearer for all of us to understand any of his comments. Cheers. [https://www.britannica.com/topic/West-Germanic-languages/Yiddish#ref603835](https://www.britannica.com/topic/West-Germanic-languages/Yiddish#ref603835) ---
**Author:** ![Stargazer](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/user_avatar/forum.thehighwaystar.com/stargazer/32/37_2.png) [@Stargazer](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/u/Stargazer)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2026, 12:12pm UTC](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/t/cunning-linguistics/265/8 "2026-10-03T12:12:04Z")
That “Dutch lady friend” is an ominous presence in Herr MacGregor’s texts, yet none of us know what is really behind that term. It warrants fearless scrutiny. ---
**Author:** ![MacGregor](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/user_avatar/forum.thehighwaystar.com/macgregor/32/52_2.png) [@MacGregor](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/u/MacGregor)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2026, 10:52pm UTC](https://forum.thehighwaystar.com/t/cunning-linguistics/265/9 "2026-10-03T22:52:30Z")
Ha ha ha, yes indeed, 35 years of her ‘Dutch’ anecdotes Uwe. She replied to my text that shyster was a word simply used for shit or such back in their youth, as the above notes displayed from the mid 1880’s. A little shyster or look at that shyster etc etc. Oh well not to worry, and here I was hoping it might have been something a little ‘nicer’ even if it wasn’t intended for me he he he. I did hear this word occasionally too, used the same as ‘shyster’, **keutel .** Cheers. > **[Dutch swear words - Learn Dutch Online](https://www.learndutch.org/migration/dutch-swear-words/)** > > How do the Dutch swear? Let’s take a look at some of the most frequent Dutch swear words that you won’t learn in your normal learning material. > **[Dutch swear words: the guide to insults and cursing in the Netherlands](https://dutchreview.com/culture/dutch-swear-words/)** > > Welcome to Dutch swear words guide, where we'll teach you all the Dutch insults you'll need for life in the Netherlands.