rip-off

Dictionary: rip-off (rĭp'ôf', -ŏf')

n. Slang.

A product or service that is overpriced or of poor quality.
Something, such as a film or story, that is clearly imitative of or based on something else.
A theft.
An act of exploitation.

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Antonyms: rip-off

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Definition: trick; robbery
Antonyms: gift, giving, offering

Wikipedia: Ripoff

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For the video game, see Rip-Off.

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Look up rip off in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

A ripoff (or rip-off) is a bad deal. Usually it refers to an incident in which a person pays too much for something. A ripoff is distinguished from a scam in that a scam involves wrongdoing such as fraud; a ripoff, on the other hand, is in the eye of the beholder. A scam might involve, for instance, a scheme in which a person pays $20 for a startup kit related to stuffing envelopes for a living, but the kit never arrives; upon receiving the money, the recipient flees. A ripoff, on the other hand, might be a business opportunity in which a person pays $375 for bulk vending machines worth $75. The fact that the advertised product actually arrives – even though it is worth far less than the purchase price – makes it a ripoff, not a scam.

In a related meaning, a ripoff is a blatant or unscrupulous copy or imitation. This is also known as a knockoff. In both senses there is an associated verb "to rip off", but the location of the preposition differs between the two meanings:

In one of his stand up comedy routines, Dennis Miller jokes about seeing an ad in the National Inquirer: "Learn how to avoid ripoffs - send $5."

In South Africa 'ripping off' can be making a joke of something that a person does on a regular basis.

		Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Antonyms. © 1999-2009 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved. Read more
		Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ripoff". Read more
		Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more

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	Original Benny Goodman Trio and Quartet Sessions, Vol. 3 (1991 Album by Benny Goodman)

rip-off

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