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Is there a word for representing one's self as weak or unintelligent in order to lull an opponent into a false sense of security and thus gain advantage? I have been using "disingenuous" but that's not correct.

Robusto
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rodb1
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4 Answers4

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The term I usually hear is

sandbag v, v tr
To downplay or misrepresent one's ability in a game or activity in order to deceive (someone), especially in gambling: sandbagged the pool player by playing poorly in the first game when stakes were low.
TFDO

The etymology is interesting and instructive. From Etymonline:

. . . Meaning "pretend weakness," 1970s perhaps is extended from poker-playing sense of "refrain from raising at the first opportunity in hopes of raising more steeply later" (1940), which perhaps is from sandbagger in the sense of "bully or ruffian who uses a sandbag as a weapon to knock his intended victim unconscious" (1882).

I take from this that the sandbag so mentioned must have been a non-obvious weapon that would have taken the victim by surprise.

Robusto
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In the context of gambling, you can use hustle:

To lure less skillful players into competing against oneself at (a gambling game)

(Merriam-Webster)

For other contexts, there's the idiom play dumb:

To pretend to be slow-witted or lacking in specific knowledge, usually in order to avoid responsibility or to gain some advantage

(Wiktionary)

TV Tropes also has a whole page on this phenomenon, which it calls Obfuscating Stupidity.

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Nicole
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  • Also @LittleEva: Hustle really means the opposite. Please read the definitions once again. Play dumb works, though. – Kris Mar 25 '15 at 05:55
  • This question offers a better definition of hustle then the dictionary. – Mazura Mar 25 '15 at 07:06
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    @Kris - How does one "lure less skillful players" into competition? –  Mar 25 '15 at 12:33
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    @Kris: from American Heritage Dictionary; here's a definition that is much more difficult to misread: 4c. Slang To misrepresent one's ability in order to deceive someone, especially in gambling. – Peter Shor Mar 25 '15 at 12:35
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    @Kris - per Peter's AHD reference, i.e., in the game of pool (or, if you'd prefer, billiards) you can consider yourself "hustled" when a shooter of greater skill deceptively convinces you, usually gradually, that they are less skillful then you. "Hustle' nicely encapsulates the OP's request for a single word which means "representing one's self as weak ... in order to lull an opponent into a false sense of security and thus gain advantage." –  Mar 25 '15 at 12:55
  • 1. I wonder how a word can have diametrically opposite meanings in the same usage domain. 2. Yes, AHD does have an entry, though it only says "misrepresent," not "underplay." 3. It's slang -- I would not offer a slang meaning as an answer when a. a formal word alternate exists b. the offered word has a regular formal meaning different from the slang usage. (The whole thing may sound like a defense, but the fact is that I had considered all these when commenting.) – Kris Mar 26 '15 at 05:37
  • Though I contested the suitability of hustle as an answer, I have not down voted. – Kris Mar 26 '15 at 05:38
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There are plenty of terms for the general case of misrepresenting oneself:

  • duplicitous
  • two-faced
  • Janus-faced

And specifically there are:

  • modest
  • unassuming
  • humble
  • coy
  • self-effacing

The term "false modesty" is of course very applicable, but isn't one word so is barred from conclusion.

Parthian Shot
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Dishonesty is a stratagem of tricksters, hustlers, and slimy, double-crossing, no-good swindlers; who would use ruses, ploys, subterfuge and/or illicit or fraudulent acts, in order to deceive you.

dishonesty, noun, dis·hon·es·ty, \–nə-stē\ -MW

lack of honesty : the quality of being untruthful or deceitful

1: lack of honesty or integrity : disposition to defraud or deceive

2: a dishonest act : fraud

For reference:

swindler: a dishonest person (see scoundrel: Lando Calrissian)

stratagem, noun, strat·a·gem \ˈstra-tə-jəm, -ˌjem\ -MW

a trick or plan for deceiving an enemy or for achieving a goal

1.a : an artifice or trick in war for deceiving and outwitting the enemy
1.b : a cleverly contrived trick or scheme for gaining an end
2 : skill in ruses or trickery

ruse, noun \ˈrüs, ˈrüz\ -MW

a trick or act that is used to fool someone; a wily subterfuge

ploy, noun \ˈplȯi\ -MW

a clever trick or plan that is used to get someone to do something or to gain an advantage over someone

2.a : a tactic intended to embarrass or frustrate an opponent
2.b : a devised or contrived move : stratagem

subterfuge, noun, sub·ter·fuge \ˈsəb-tər-ˌfyüj\ -MW (See stratagem)

illicit, adjective, il·lic·it (ˌ)i(l)-ˈli-sət\

: not allowed by law : unlawful or illegal

: involving activities that are not considered morally acceptable

fraud, noun, \ˈfrȯd\ -MW

: the crime of using dishonest methods to take something valuable from another person

: a person who pretends to be what he or she is not in order to trick people

: a copy of something that is meant to look like the real thing in order to trick people

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Mazura
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  • Disingenuous I think disingenuous is probably as close as I can get with one word. – rodb1 Mar 28 '15 at 02:53
  • @rodb1 It fits the title perfectly but not the content so much. "representing one's self as weak or unintelligent in order to lull an opponent into a false sense of security and thus gain advantage" is all but the definition of hustle. Even when falling victim to a (military) feint; you got hustled. – Mazura Mar 28 '15 at 03:03