/hus"euhl/ , v. , hustled, hustling , n.
v.i.
1. to proceed or work rapidly or energetically: to hustle about putting a house in order.
2. to push or force one's way; jostle or shove.
3. to be aggressive, esp. in business or other financial dealings.
4. Slang. to earn one's living by illicit or unethical means.
5. Slang. (of a prostitute) to solicit clients.
v.t.
6. to convey or cause to move, esp. to leave, roughly or hurriedly: They hustled him out of the bar.
7. to pressure or coerce (a person) to buy or do something: to hustle the customers into buying more drinks.
8. to urge, prod, or speed up: Hustle your work along.
9. to obtain by aggressive or illicit means: He could always hustle a buck or two from some sucker.
10. to beg; solicit.
11. to sell in or work (an area), esp. by high-pressure tactics: The souvenir venders began hustling the town at dawn.
12. to sell aggressively: to hustle souvenirs.
13. to jostle, push, or shove roughly.
14. Slang. to induce (someone) to gamble or to promote (a gambling game) when the odds of winning are overwhelmingly in one's own favor.
15. Slang. to cheat; swindle: They hustled him out of his savings.
16. Slang.
a. (of a prostitute) to solicit (someone).
b. to attempt to persuade (someone) to have sexual relations.
c. to promote or publicize in a lively, vigorous, or aggressive manner: an author hustling her new book on the TV talk shows.
n.
17. energetic activity, as in work.
18. discourteous shoving, pushing, or jostling.
19. Slang.
a. an inducing by fraud, pressure, or deception, esp. of inexperienced or uninformed persons, to buy something, to participate in an illicit scheme, dishonest gambling game, etc.
b. such a product, scheme, gambling game, etc.
20. Informal. a competitive struggle: the hustle to earn a living.
21. a fast, lively, popular ballroom dance evolving from Latin American, swing, rock, and disco dance styles, with a strong basic rhythm and simple step pattern augmented by strenuous turns, breaks, etc.
[ 1675-85; husselen, var. of hutselen to shake, equiv. to hutsen to shake + -el- -LE ]