From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english
Snidely <
snidely.too@gmail.com> posted:
Sn!pe was thinking very hard :
Snidely <snidely.too@gmail.com> wrote:
Just this Friday, Sn!pe asked ...
If shills are influencers, are influencers shills?
The Apple online version of the OED (edited) says:
------
shill -- North American informal
noun
an accomplice of a confidence trickster or swindler who poses as a
genuine customer to entice or encourage others.
a person who pretends to give an impartial endorsement of something
in which they themselves have an interest
------
For me, "shill" is more like "huckster". And I'd take the old Ronco
ads as an example of shilling.
I sat down in a very small-stakes poker game in a small Nevada casino.
On the wall was a sign "Shills must identify themselves if asked." Half-jokingly I asked if there were any shills at the table.
The other five players all raised their hands!
Some other words used in a California poker room:
* shill - a player whose wins and losses are 100% for the house.
* cow - a player who gets 50% of wins and losses, the other 50% going
to house or another individual.
* prop - a player whose wins and losses are 100% his own, but receives
a salary in return for playing at whichever table he's told to join.
* swamper - a busboy who collects glasses, empties ashtrays, etc.
* rounder - a player who's usually "around"; whether as shill, cow, prop
or even swamper depends on his latest financial status.
These words date from the 19th century or earlier.
Four of these definitions are depicted (more or less) at Wiktionary.
The exception is "cow" which is addressed at
https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/j2ao3ba
Cheers,
James
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