the.com/roper
The con artist's con artist — the one who finds you before the grift does.
means A con man's recruiter — the operator who scouts, flatters, and reels marks into position for someone else's swindle.
from Straight off the literal verb 'to rope' — to lasso and lead an animal where you want it. By the late 1800s, American confidence-game slang borrowed the image outright: the 'roper' (sometimes 'roper-in') was the smooth-talking front man who lassoed a gullible mark with charm and steered him toward the 'inside man' who ran the actual con.
- origin
- carnival slang for crowd-luring shills
- job
- spots marks, builds trust, hands off
- never
- closes the deal themselves
- modern form
- the friendly stranger pitching crypto