Wiktionary
n. (context British English) A man who lives by his wits, wheeling and dealing.
Wikipedia
Wide boy is a British term for a man who lives by his wits, wheeling and dealing. According to the Oxford English Dictionary it is synonymous with spiv. The word "wide" used in this sense means wide-awake or sharp-witted. Newspapers of the late 1940s and 1950s often use both terms in the same article about the same person when dealing with ticket touts, fraudsters and black market traders. It has become more generally used to describe a dishonest trader or a petty criminal who works by guile rather than force.
The term came to public attention in 1937 with the publication of Wide Boys Never Work by Robert Westerby, a novel about gamblers and hustlers. During World War II such individuals became involved in the black market, but the term only began to appear in newspapers from 1947.
Wide Boy is a 1952 British crime film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Susan Shaw, Sydney Tafler and Ronald Howard.
It was Hughes' feature directorial debut.
"Wide Boy" was the sixth consecutive Top 20 hit single for 1980s teen idol Nik Kershaw. It reached #9 on the UK Singles Chart in 1985. His next single " Don Quixote" was to become the last of his string of Top 20 hits on the UK chart. The song also charted highly in Ireland and Australia, peaking at #5 and #7, respectively.
The song was originally recorded for Kershaw's Human Racing album, but was dropped before the album was released. It later appeared on Kershaw's next album The Riddle. The single was a remix of the album version.
The accompanying video was directed by acclaimed graphic designer Storm Thorgerson.
Wide boy is a British term for a man who lives by his wits, wheeling and dealing.
Wide Boy may refer to:
Usage examples of "wide boy".
She'd never liked Alan, he was a wide boy with the morals of an alleycat.
It had been reported in the papers complete with photographs, and any wide boy could open the Totnes museum with a hairpin.