What does chouse mean?
To chouse is to cheat or swindle someone, especially out of money or property, through trickery or deceitful dealing. The verb is transitive and most naturally appears in constructions such as 'he was choused out of his savings'. Though once reasonably current, it is now rare and literary, lending a slightly archaic, colourful flavour that distinguishes it from plainer synonyms like 'cheat' or 'defraud'. It carries an unambiguously negative connotation, implying deliberate dishonesty rather than mere sharp practice. The word entered English in the early seventeenth century, supposedly after a Turkish chaush (a military messenger or official) was accused of cheating English merchants at Constantinople, and his title came to be used as a byword for cheating. Besides its verbal use, chouse has occasionally served as a noun denoting a cheat or an act of swindling. For readers encountering historical fiction or older journalism, recognising chouse can unlock passages that would otherwise puzzle them.
To cheat or swindle someone out of money, goods, or other benefits by trickery or fraud.
"The bogus broker choused elderly investors out of their pensions."
Usually followed by 'out of' plus the thing taken.
A cheat or swindler; also, an act of swindling.
"He proved a thorough chouse, taking deposits for goods he never intended to deliver."
Archaic; now found chiefly in older literature.
Applies only to the rare noun sense meaning a cheat or act of swindling.
"The court records of the period are full of chouses and petty frauds."
This obscure 17th-century verb for 'to swindle' was born from an alleged con by a Turkish messenger — the 'chaush' whose name became shorthand for cheating.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of chouse
'Chouse' entered English in the early seventeenth century, borrowed from the Turkish 'çauş' (chaush), meaning a messenger or subordinate officer. The story behind the borrowing holds that a Turkish chaush cheated some English merchants, causing travellers to use his title as a slang term for cheating. The word has no true cognates in other European languages beyond the Turkish source itself, though the related term 'chaoush' appears in accounts of the Ottoman world.
How chouse is actually used
'Chouse' is now rare and somewhat archaic or literary, carrying a slightly old-fashioned, colourful tone compared with everyday terms like 'cheat' or 'con'. It takes an object and typically appears in the construction 'chouse someone out of something'. The noun sense meaning a swindler or swindle survives mainly in older texts.
Easily confused with chouse
'Choose' means to select between options and rhymes loosely with 'booze', while 'chouse' means to swindle someone and rhymes with 'house'.