Dishonest dealing or trickery; the practice or quality of being a fraud or swindler.
From French 'friponnerie,' derived from 'fripon' (a rogue or scoundrel), which may ultimately relate to 'fripe' meaning worn-out or secondhand. The term evolved to mean roguish or dishonest behavior.
This French word captures something English struggles with—there's a particular flavor to French dishonesty that implies cleverness and style rather than crude theft, which is why French borrowed so much to English when describing sophisticated con games.
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