mountebank• Politically, Mr Ashdown is a mountebank, not a moralist.• He hated being the object of public attention and ridicule like some fairgroundmountebank.• Are you allowing yourselves to be fooled by this mountebank, this harlequin?• She was to marry this mountebank, this hypocriticaltoad of a Sir Thomas.
Originmountebank
(1500-1600)Italianmontimbanco, from monta in banco“get on the bench”; because people selling things to the public stood on a raised surface