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Charlatan
Person engaging in deceptive practices / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Charlatan (disambiguation).
"Swindler" redirects here. For other uses, see Swindler (disambiguation).
A charlatan (also called a swindler or mountebank) is a person practicing quackery or a similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, power, fame, or other advantages through pretense or deception. One example of a charlatan appears in the Canterbury Tales story "The Pardoner's Tale," with the Pardoner who tricks sinners into buying fake religious relics. Synonyms for charlatan include shyster, quack, or faker. Quack is a reference to quackery or the practice of dubious medicine, including the sale of snake oil, or a person who does not have medical training who purports to provide medical services.
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