shylock
See also: Shylock
English
Etymology
From the character Shylock in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (1600).
Pronunciation
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Audio (AU): (file) - Hyphenation: shy‧lock
Noun
shylock (plural shylocks)
- (US) A loan shark; a usurer.
- 2005, Joe Pistone, The Way of the Wiseguy, page 45,
- Eventually, their gambling debts grow so big that they are cut off from making any more bets, eliminating the chance that they can make enough money to satisfy their shylocks.
- 2009, G. T. Harrell, For Members Only: The Story of the Mob's Secret Judge, A True Story, page 229,
- If a guy got into hock with several shylocks from different crews and was unable to keep up with his weekly payments, a sit-down would have to be called with all of the shylocks involved and their respective capos.
- 2013, James Lee Burke, Light of the World, page 429,
- After Caspian's father killed his credit lines at all the big casinos, he ran up a six-figure tab with a couple of shylocks in Miami, then couldn't make the vig.
- 2005, Joe Pistone, The Way of the Wiseguy, page 45,
- (offensive, ethnic slur) A person of Jewish descent.
Translations
loan shark — see loan shark
Verb
shylock (third-person singular simple present shylocks, present participle shylocking, simple past and past participle shylocked)
- (intransitive, US) To lend money at exorbitant rates of interest.
- 2004 December 8, Kenya National Assembly Official Record (Hansard), page 4928,
- I wanted to know whether shylocking is a legal business or not, and if it is legal, under which Act does it operate?
- 2005, Tom Layne, The Assassination of Rush Limbaugh, page 151,
- When you've accumulated a good stash of money, you may want to go into the nightclub business, or shylocking. Shylocking is free. There is no ten percent vig on loan sharking.
- 2005, Jeannette Walls, The Glass Castle, 2010, unnumbered page,
- Lori said it sounded outright felonious, but Dad said all he was doing was outsmarting the fat-cat bank owners who shylocked the common man by charging usurious interest rates.
- 2011, John Nicholas Iannuzzi, Handbook of Cross Examination: The Mosaic Art, 3rd Edition, page 312,
- Do you recall this question having been put to you—the shylocking business you were involved in continued right up until the time that you were arrested, correct?
- 2004 December 8, Kenya National Assembly Official Record (Hansard), page 4928,
Translations
to lend at exorbitant rates
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Further reading
shylock on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Merchant of Venice on Wikipedia.Wikipedia