Ripoff

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:

That bulk vending machine salesman ripped Joe off.

That electronic dog manufacturer ripped off Aibo.

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."

Incidently, in South Africa \'ripping off\' can also be the same as making a joke out of something that a person does on a regular basis.

See also

• Rip-Off Britain
• Rip Off Press

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