expression for cheating customers with an inaccurate scale?

Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0

12 events

when toggle format	what		by	license	comment
Jul 9, 2017 at 23:18	review	Low quality posts
Jul 10, 2017 at 12:41
Jul 8, 2017 at 4:54	comment	added	The Anathema		I agree with both Lightness and jkf. This idiom refers to a different sort of scam and no amount of upvotes will make this the right answer to someone trying to learn English.
Jul 7, 2017 at 15:02	comment	added	jkf		When you are looking for an idiom referring to a specific scam, don't you think it would be best to avoid using one which refers to a different specific scam?
Jul 7, 2017 at 14:16	comment	added	barbecue		merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shortchange dictionary.com/browse/shortchange macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/british/short-change collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/short-change dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/short-change vocabulary.com/dictionary/short-change oed.com/search?searchType=dictionary&q=shortchange
Jul 7, 2017 at 14:15	comment	added	barbecue		@jkf Anyone who has ever looked at a dictionary knows that words can have multiple meanings. That's what the little numbers mean.
Jul 7, 2017 at 11:00	comment	added	CDCM		@Davor In language, when millions are wrong, they become right. Languages aren't static.
Jul 7, 2017 at 9:58	comment	added	Davor		@Davo - than 19 of you are wrong. Millions have been wrong before, that's why ad populum is a fallacy.
Jul 7, 2017 at 6:12	comment	added	chrylis -cautiouslyoptimistic-		@jkf That is certainly the origin of the phrase, but it's widely used in a generalized sense now.
Jul 7, 2017 at 1:43	comment	added	jkf		The expression "short-change" refers to a specific scam where a person is tricked into giving the wrong amount of change for a given transaction, either with sleight of hand or confusing machinations of asking for different denominations to be exchanged etc. It is more often something that a customer might do to con a cashier, but certainly could work the other way as well. However it has nothing at all to do with tampering with scales, which makes this a pretty bad answer; the upvotes seem to be a weakness with many SE sites as user bases increase. Also true of democracy in general I suppose.
Jul 6, 2017 at 17:37	comment	added	Davo		Nineteen of us think it does, but thank you for your feedback.
Jul 6, 2017 at 17:36	comment	added	Lightness Races in Orbit		This does not match the question.
Jul 5, 2017 at 17:55	history	answered	Davo	CC BY-SA 3.0