faker

Noun

faker (plural fakers)

1. One who fakes something.
2. An impostor or impersonator.
   • The ordinary Christian will read the claims of the New Thought fakers with contempt; but have I not shown the Catholic Church publishing long lists of money-miracles?1917, Upton Sinclair, The Profits of Religion […]
   • Sonic: I found you, faker!2001 June 23, Sonic Team USA, Sonic Adventure 2, Sega, published 2001
3. (broadly) A friendly unit (usually aircraft) that acts as a hostile unit in a military exercise.
   • faker: A friendly track acting as a hostile for exercise purposes. (STANAG 1241)2011, APP-6C: NATO Joint Military Symbology, page 555
4. (obsolete) A thief.
5. (obsolete) A peddler of petty things.
   • He has been lagged for beaker hunting, was a mushroom faker [umbrella seller], has been on the steel for snamming a wedge sneezer; […]1859, Snowden's Magistrates Assistant, page 497
6. A snake oil salesman; one who makes exaggerated claims about a product he sells.
   • Yet the faker is not an unpopular visitor to the country fair. On the contrary, a country fair at which was not heard the stentorian shouts of the faker to "come on, boys; here's the chance to make your fortune," would be considered a dismal failure.1906, Clifton Rodman Wooldridge, The Grafters of America: Who They are and how They Work, page 248
   • All the doctor has to do nowadays is to read the labels on the bottles and boxes of samples the faker brings him.1909 May, G. Frank Lydston, “Honor to Whom Honor is Due”, in The Medical Standard, volume 32, page 248