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People who think hustling is about working hard have a very different interpretation of the word than I'm used to. A hustler is supposed to be a cunning charact

People who think hustling is about working hard have a very different interpretation of the word than I'm used to. A hustler is supposed to be a cunning character who uses their guile and persistence to get ahead, taking advantage of the system. Someone who just works really hard at the expense of their health sounds more like what I'd expect to see characterised as a schmuck than a hustler.

CompelTechnic 8y ago
I think both connotations are valid and context usually determines the underlying meaning. For a third connotation that is close to the GP's, think of a coach telling his players to hustle on the basketball court. To me, that means they need to play hard and quick, not that they need to try more to bend the rules, take advantage, etc.
- logicchains 8y ago
  >For a third connotation that is close to the GP's, think of a coach telling his players to hustle on the basketball court. To me, that means they need to play hard and quick, not that they need to try more to bend the rules, take advantage, etc. That's interesting, I always assumed the coach was actually suggesting they try to bend the rules and do whatever's necessary to win, but your interpretation makes more sense.
  - avisser 8y ago
    As someone who played a lot of sports, the classic "hustle" play was laying out/diving/getting on the ground for the ball. Be it in baseball, basketball or football. You could play the game without hitting the ground, but if you wanted to hustle and win, you had to get your clothes dirty. You weren't breaking any rules, just doing what other people wouldn't.
rv-de 8y ago
That's also my understanding of the term "hustler". Obviously hustling is considered cool - so a lot of people want to be hustlers - but if a lot of people were able to hustle - then it wouldn't be anything special. So by means of commercialized cargo culting the agreed upon definition gets watered down to a level that can be met by more people.
eli_gottlieb 8y ago
>Someone who just works really hard at the expense of their health sounds more like what I'd expect to see characterised as a schmuck than a hustler. Well, if we're going with Yiddish slang, the term would be freier, meaning "sucker" (https://www.haaretz.com/.premium-word-of-the-day-freier-1.5224434 https://www.haaretz.com/.premium-word-of-the-day-freier-1.52...).

CompelTechnic 8y ago

I think both connotations are valid and context usually determines the underlying meaning. For a third connotation that is close to the GP's, think of a coach telling his players to hustle on the basketball court. To me, that means they need to play hard and quick, not that they need to try more to bend the rules, take advantage, etc.

logicchains 8y ago
>For a third connotation that is close to the GP's, think of a coach telling his players to hustle on the basketball court. To me, that means they need to play hard and quick, not that they need to try more to bend the rules, take advantage, etc. That's interesting, I always assumed the coach was actually suggesting they try to bend the rules and do whatever's necessary to win, but your interpretation makes more sense.
- avisser 8y ago
  As someone who played a lot of sports, the classic "hustle" play was laying out/diving/getting on the ground for the ball. Be it in baseball, basketball or football. You could play the game without hitting the ground, but if you wanted to hustle and win, you had to get your clothes dirty. You weren't breaking any rules, just doing what other people wouldn't.

rv-de 8y ago

That's also my understanding of the term "hustler". Obviously hustling is considered cool - so a lot of people want to be hustlers - but if a lot of people were able to hustle - then it wouldn't be anything special. So by means of commercialized cargo culting the agreed upon definition gets watered down to a level that can be met by more people.

eli_gottlieb 8y ago

>Someone who just works really hard at the expense of their health sounds more like what I'd expect to see characterised as a schmuck than a hustler. Well, if we're going with Yiddish slang, the term would be freier, meaning "sucker" (https://www.haaretz.com/.premium-word-of-the-day-freier-1.5224434 https://www.haaretz.com/.premium-word-of-the-day-freier-1.52...).