spiv

英国の実業家であるフィリップス・グリーン氏は，不正のビジネスで稼いでいるといった意見があるようです。

Next in the stocks … the banks, Blair and the royals

A curious little cameo always plays out at the high court at the end of a day of evidence in the trial of a person accused of a serious sexual crime against women or young children. As the van carrying the accused sweeps out of the gates, a small crowd rushes forward, spitting venom at the alleged perpetrator. The police prevent the mob rushing the vehicle, but in a half-hearted fashion. After all, they seem to be saying, you can hardly blame these good, law-abiding and child-loving citizens for venting their fury at someone who has been accused of such heinous crimes.

In the Commons on Thursday, another mob gathered and assembled stocks, in which they placed the virtual character of Sir Philip Green before spending three hours lobbing rotten food at him. Green was like the former boss of the Mirror group of newspapers, Robert Maxwell; he was an “asset-stripper”. He was “a billionaire spiv” who ought never to have received his knighthood. In fact, to many who sat on the green benches, he was worse than all these things: he had “shamed British capitalism”.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/22/philip-green-bhs-banks-tony-blair-royal-family

今回取り上げる表現は，“spiv”です。発音記号は，/spív/です。意味を確認してみたところ，『ジーニアス英和辞典』（大修館書店）には，「（しゃれた身なりをした）小悪人」や「うさんくさいやつ」，「やみ屋」とあります。さらにLongman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishを引いてみると，“a man who gets money from small dishonest business deals”と定義されていました。“dishonest”の意味が含まれているようですね。

語源を調べてみると，Etymology Onlineによると，“probably dating back to late 19c. and connected with spiff (see spiffy) in one of its various senses”とあり，“spiff”が関係しているようです。ちなみに，“spiff”には「きちんとしたもの［気の利いたもの］にする」という意味になります。(Nao)