A "grift" is a small-time con, a carnival trick or back-alley shell game for a few bucks. The word has been co-opted by social media users who were and are igno

A "grift" is a small-time con, a carnival trick or back-alley shell game for a few bucks. The word has been co-opted by social media users who were and are ignorant of its actual meaning, I suppose because it's fun to say. There is very little small-time about the corruption various "grifters" are accused of perpetrating.