trickster

== English == === Etymology === From trick +‎ -ster. === Pronunciation === (General American) IPA(key): /ˈtɹɪkstɚ/ === Noun === trickster (plural tricksters) (mythology, literature) Any of numerous figures featuring in various mythologies and folk traditions, who use guile and secret knowledge to challenge authority and play tricks and pranks on others with their acts of trickery; any similar figure in literature. 1991, Alan R. Velie (compiler and editor), American Indian Literature: An Anthology, Revised edition, page 44, The trickster is one of the oldest and most widespread of mythological and literary figures. […] As the name implies, the trickster is, on one level—probably the most important—an amoral practical joker who wanders about playing pranks on unsuspecting victims […] With all the fluctuations, certain things about the trickster are predictable: he is always a wanderer, always hungry, and usually oversexed. Tricksters abound in folktales […] . One who plays tricks or pranks on others. A skilled trickster knows how to outsmart their enemies with ease. One who performs tricks (parts of a magician act or entertainingly difficult physical actions). An impish or playful person. A fraud or cheat (person who performs a trick or hoax full of falsehoods for the purpose of unlawful gain). ==== Synonyms ==== (one who plays tricks or pranks on others): prankster, tricker, trepan (one who performs tricks): tricker ==== Related terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Verb === trickster (third-person singular simple present tricksters, present participle trickstering, simple past and past participle trickstered) (intransitive) To engage in the antics of a trickster; to play tricks. === See also === gadfly jester jokester practical joker prankster List of fictional tricksters on Wikipedia.Wikipedia