Spiv ((exclusive)) Jun 2026

I feel quite strongly about some things, one of them being that the current funding crisis is driving the British Health Service t... WordPress.com Spiv - Wikipedia Other suggestions have been made, most commonly noting that spiv is also a Romani word for a sparrow, implying the person is a pet... Wikipedia Neil Rackham really wanted us all to be SPIV sales people Apr 10, 2014 —

Would you like to know more about a specific context or usage of the term "spiv"? I feel quite strongly about some things, one

The spiv’s decline was tied directly to the end of rationing. Once the markets reopened and goods became legally plentiful in the mid-1950s, the "man on the corner" lost his leverage. Many spivs transitioned into legitimate (if still slightly dodgy) car sales or market trading, while the word itself slowly evolved into "wide boy" or "del boy" (famously immortalized in Only Fools and Horses ). The spiv’s decline was tied directly to the

The term "spiv" is often associated with the underworld, organized crime, or illicit activities. The term "spiv" is often associated with the

What survives of the spiv today is less the man than the mood—a certain edgy flamboyance, the belief that rules are for fools and that the quick deal is the only honest one. He’s the ancestor of the Del Boys and the wide boys, the market-stall sharpers and the crypto-brokers with too many phones. In every era of shortage or squeeze, the spiv resurfaces, because there will always be someone who needs something scarce—and someone else willing to supply it, for a price, with a wink.

I feel quite strongly about some things, one of them being that the current funding crisis is driving the British Health Service t... WordPress.com Spiv - Wikipedia Other suggestions have been made, most commonly noting that spiv is also a Romani word for a sparrow, implying the person is a pet... Wikipedia Neil Rackham really wanted us all to be SPIV sales people Apr 10, 2014 —

Would you like to know more about a specific context or usage of the term "spiv"?

The spiv’s decline was tied directly to the end of rationing. Once the markets reopened and goods became legally plentiful in the mid-1950s, the "man on the corner" lost his leverage. Many spivs transitioned into legitimate (if still slightly dodgy) car sales or market trading, while the word itself slowly evolved into "wide boy" or "del boy" (famously immortalized in Only Fools and Horses ).

The term "spiv" is often associated with the underworld, organized crime, or illicit activities.

What survives of the spiv today is less the man than the mood—a certain edgy flamboyance, the belief that rules are for fools and that the quick deal is the only honest one. He’s the ancestor of the Del Boys and the wide boys, the market-stall sharpers and the crypto-brokers with too many phones. In every era of shortage or squeeze, the spiv resurfaces, because there will always be someone who needs something scarce—and someone else willing to supply it, for a price, with a wink.