Present participle of grift; the act of obtaining money through swindling or running confidence schemes.
From 'grift' plus the continuous '-ing' suffix. The practice is centuries old, but the specific slang term emerged in American underworld language in the early 20th century.
The term 'grifting' fascinates linguists because it shows how criminal subcultures develop their own vocabulary—underworld slang often enters mainstream language because crime stories are so compelling to general audiences.
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