"trim the sucker"

Posted by Smokey Stover on March 24, 2006

In Reply to: "Trim the sucker" posted by Alan Titchmarsh on March 24, 2006

: : Anyone ever heard of the phrase "trim the sucker"? Here's the context: "We use it like a blackjack player uses a deck of cards to trim the suckers--just as elegantly."

: Well known gardening phrase - not!

: suckers=rubes=marks

: to trim? to skim off, to fleece, to cut them down to size

: you have simply stumbled upon a bad piece of metaphor.

: L

Thank God for context. So fleecing the mark is intended, apparently. But it IS a well-known gardening phrase as well. SS

• "Trim the sucker" RRC 24/March/06
  • "Trim the sucker" Bob 25/March/06