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I know that languages evolve naturally, and words get repurposed all the time, but hustler? Really?. hustler n 1: a prostitute who attracts customers by wal

by moopark 16y ago

I know that languages evolve naturally, and words get repurposed all the time, but hustler? Really?. hustler n 1: a prostitute who attracts customers by walking the streets 2: a shrewd or __unscrupulous__ person who knows how to circumvent difficulties It also happens to be the title of a porn magazine that would make Hugh Hefner blush, while you won't often hear the term 'hustler' used in reference to a female prostitute, you will find it heavily used among gay men to refer to male prostitutes. Perhaps repurposing 'hustler' without negative connotations will work, but this is a word with a lot of ugly baggage, and the first thing I thought of when I saw it used in reference to startups: dishonest businessmen. [Addendum] For completeness, a dip into the modern lexicon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hustler_(disambiguation) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hustler_(disambiguation) Hustler is a monthly pornographic men's magazine and general brand of Larry Flynt Publications. Hustler or hustlers also commonly refers to: - A practitioner of confidence tricks - Someone who deceives others by hustling, usually in sports - An American hip hop slang word for a pimp, drug dealer or male prostitute

alexyim 16y ago
You're missing one definition: an aggressively enterprising person; a go-getter I think it depends on audience, but I hear this quite often in these circles.
- moopark 16y ago
  I agree that it depends on your dictionary. If a locally repurposed word like hustler has a very strong meaning outside your circles, chances are good that when you start talking about hustling in relation to business, a fair number of people are going to think swindler or worse. It seems that a number of people like to use it as a self-description because it does have negative, edgy traits -- in the same sense of 'ninja'. Unlike 'ninja', however, 'hustler' can easily lie a bit too close to the truth.

by moopark 16y ago

alexyim 16y ago

You're missing one definition: an aggressively enterprising person; a go-getter I think it depends on audience, but I hear this quite often in these circles.

moopark 16y ago
I agree that it depends on your dictionary. If a locally repurposed word like hustler has a very strong meaning outside your circles, chances are good that when you start talking about hustling in relation to business, a fair number of people are going to think swindler or worse. It seems that a number of people like to use it as a self-description because it does have negative, edgy traits -- in the same sense of 'ninja'. Unlike 'ninja', however, 'hustler' can easily lie a bit too close to the truth.