Meanings
nounshort con (plural short cons)
plural short cons
- A scam that can be performed in minutes or seconds, typically aiming to rob the victim of the money or valuables they carry on them.
It's up to me. I'm strictly short con. It's nothing but small time stuff. I can walk away from it anytime I want.
1990, Jim Thompson, Donald E. Westlake, The Grifters, spoken by Roy Dillon (John Cusack)1 more example
Another common form of short con is the shell game. This scam has the advantage of giving the criminal the ability to rip off many marks all at one location.
2009, Michael Benson, Cons and Frauds, Infobase, →ISBN, page 21
Cite this entry
APA
short con. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/short%20con
MLA
“short con.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/short%20con. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “short con,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/short%20con.
Source: short con on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.