illywhacker

I1L1L1Y4W4H4A1C3K5E1R1
UK/ˈɪliwakə/

noun

A small-time confidence trickster or seller of trinkets.

Scrabble 26
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Meanings

nounillywhacker (plural illywhackers)

plural illywhackers · alternative illywacker

  1. AustraliacolloquialrareA small-time confidence trickster or seller of trinkets.

    ‘What's an illywhacker?’ said Charles. ‘Spieler,’ explained Leah, who was not used to children.

    1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber and Faber, published 2003, page 228

Origin

Uncertain. Suggested by lexicographer Sidney Baker to derive from illy (variant of eeler, from pig Latin eeler-spee for spieler) + whacker. The verb form whack the illy is a back-formation from the noun.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

illywhacker. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/illywhacker

MLA

“illywhacker.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/illywhacker. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “illywhacker,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/illywhacker.

Source: illywhacker on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.