An Irish historical term for a small-time moneylender or loan shark — typically a local shopkeeper or middleman who extended credit at exploitative interest rates, often in rural communities during times of hardship. The gombeenman was a reviled figure in 19th-century Irish society, widely seen as preying on poverty. The word persists in modern Irish English as a term of contempt for anyone seen as greedy, petty, and exploitative — a small crook playing a big man.
He had the reputation of a gombeenman, always ready to lend you a fiver and bleed you dry paying it back.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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(Ireland, historical) A gombeen, or money-lender.
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