What is "con"

Con \Con\, adv. [Abbrev. from L. contra against.] Against the affirmative side; in opposition; on the negative side; -- The antithesis of pro, and usually in connection with it. See Pro.

Con \Con\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Conned; p. pr. & vb. n. Conning.] [AS. cunnan to know, be able, and (derived from this) cunnian to try, test. See Can, v. t. & i.]

1. To know; to understand; to acknowledge. [Obs.]

   Of muses, Hobbinol, I con no skill.
   --Spenser.

   They say they con to heaven the highway.
   --Spenser.

2. To study in order to know; to peruse; to learn; to commit to memory; to regard studiously.

   Fixedly did look Upon the muddy waters which he conned As if he had been reading in a book.
   --Wordsworth.

   I did not come into Parliament to con my lesson.
   --Burke.

   To con answer, to be able to answer. [Obs.]

   To con thanks, to thank; to acknowledge obligation. [Obs.]
   --Shak.

Con \Con\, v. t. [See Cond.] (Naut.) To conduct, or superintend the steering of (a vessel); to watch the course of (a vessel) and direct the helmsman how to steer.

"negation" (mainly in pro and con), 1570s, short for Latin contra "against" (see contra).

"study," early 15c., from Old English cunnan "to know, know how" (see can (v.1)).

"swindling," 1889, American English, from confidence man (1849), from the many scams in which the victim is induced to hand over money as a token of confidence. Confidence with a sense of "assurance based on insufficient grounds" dates from 1590s.

a slang or colloquial shortening of various nouns beginning in con-, such as, from the 19th century, confidant, conundrum, conformist, convict, contract, and from the 20th century, conductor, conservative.

"to guide ships," 1620s, from French conduire "to conduct, lead, guide" (10c.), from Latin conducere (see conduce). Related: Conned; conning.

"to swindle," 1896, from con (adj.). Related: Conned; conning.

init. Certificate of Need.

1. n. an argument opposed to a proposal [ant: pro]

2. a person serving a sentence in a jail or prison [syn: convict, inmate, jailbird, gaolbird]

3. a swindle in which you cheat at gambling or persuade a person to buy worthless property [syn: bunco, bunco game, bunko, bunko game, confidence trick, confidence game, con game, gyp, hustle, sting, flimflam]

4. [also: conning, conned]

1. adv. on the negative side; "much was written pro and con" [syn: in opposition] [ant: pro]

2. [also: conning, conned]

1. v. deprive of by deceit; "He swindled me out of my inheritance"; "She defrauded the customers who trusted her"; "the cashier gypped me when he gave me too little change" [syn: victimize, swindle, rook, goldbrick, nobble, diddle, bunco, defraud, scam, mulct, gyp]

2. commit to memory; learn by heart; "Have you memorized your lines for the play yet?" [syn: memorize, memorise, learn]

3. [also: conning, conned]

Con may refer to:

• Confidence trick, also known as con, scam, or flim flam
  • Con (TV series), a television show about confidence trickery
• Con (name)
• Conn (nautical), also spelled con, the command of movement of a ship at sea
• Consider (MUD), the ability to evaluate an opponent in MUDs
• Consolidated Edison, also Con Edison
• Contact lens, in Hong Kong English
• Contra as in the original Latin phrase of pros and cons pro et contra
• Convention (meeting)
  • Fan convention, e.g. "Comic-Con"
• Convict, as in ex-con, a person who has been convicted of a crime
  • Convicted felon, a person who has been convicted of a felony crime in a court of law
• In Italian musical terms used in English, it means "with" (con means "with" in both Italian and Spanish as the word derives from Latin)

CON may refer to:

• Certificate of Need
• Commander of the Order of the Niger
• Commonwealth of Nations, an association of primarily former British colonies
• Concord Municipal Airport, a public-use airport in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States by IATA airport code
• Continental Oil, via its ICAO airline designator
• Cornwall, England, via its Chapman code
• Naruto: Clash of Ninja, a 3-D cel-shaded fighting game
• '' The Chronicles of Narnia', a series of seven fantasy novels for children written by C. S. Lewis

Con is a television series on Comedy Central in which con artist Skyler Stone revealed the secrets of his profession by performing confidence tricks, scams, and hoaxes of various degrees of complexity on camera. These could range from simply claiming that an order for food was botched, to claiming to be a certain profession, which required training (received through cons). In one episode Stone showed how he received free soft drinks at fast food restaurants by retaining paper cups from various fast food restaurants and then refilling them at soda fountains. Most of his cons revolved around him claiming that he is filming a television show or movie of some sort, and that the product or service he wished to acquire would be advertised in the film or show. The products did wind up getting free advertisement – but on Con, not where they were told.

Con is a short form of the following given names

• Cornelius
• Conrad
• Constantine

Con is also a given name on its own that may refer to

• Con Conrad (1891–1938), American songwriter and producer
• Con Colleano (1899–1973), Australian tightrope walker
• Con Cremin (1908–1987), Irish diplomat
• Con Lehane (Irish republican) (1911-1983), Irish nationalist
• Con O'Neill (diplomat) (1912–1988), British civil servant and diplomat
• Con Houlihan (1925–2012), Irish sportswriter
• Con Constantine (born 1945), Cypriot-Australian businessman
• Con Coughlin, (born 1955), British journalist and author
• Con Boutsianis (born 1971), Australian football player
• Con Blatsis (born 1977), Greek-Australian football player
• Con Sullivan, New Zealand rugby player
• Con Kolivas, Australian anaesthetist

Con is also a surname of the following people

• Mac Con, a High King of Ireland
• Marin Con (born 1985), Croatian footballer