Quote
1. Quote - Listen to the quote and guess what the slang means.
“My pops just had his hip replaced and called me and said, ‘Hey, Mr. D, the surgeon really feels like I should have a bigger car since my hip rehab.’ I cut my dad off and just started laughing because I knew what he was hustling for.”
—Actor Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, speaking about buying his dad a new car (TMZ)
Definition
1. Definition - Study the definition.
try to talk a person into something; try to convince a person to do or give something; work or sell aggressively
2. Use - Learn how the slang is used.
The word hustle has different meanings. It’s a dance from the ‘70s. It means to move quickly and busily. But it can also mean to try very hard to sell someone something. A classic example in the US is the used-car salesman. Used cars don’t always work well, but a used-car salesman must sell his cars. So, he will try very hard to make every car sound like it is the perfect car… even if it isn’t. He hustles his cars.
In addition to hustling objects, like cars or cleaning products, people can also hustle their ideas. If you work very hard to convince a person to agree with you, you are hustling that person. Recently, the father of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson had hip surgery. He also wanted a new car. So, he hustled his son into buying him a new car. He did this by telling The Rock that a new car was a recommendation from his doctor.
When did you hustle someone? How does it feel when someone tries to hustle you?
Examples
1. Examples - Hear some example sentences.
“Don’t try to hustle me into buying anything.”
“Used-car salesmen often hustle their customers and force them to buy new cars.”
“Mike is hustling the new product in New York.”