Definition:
: a person who engages in fraudulent or shady activities; specifically : a corrupt or scheming politician
About the Word:
Highbinder was first used in English at the beginning of the 19th century, as the name of a particularly unruly gang. By the 1870s the word had crossed the country and was applied to members of Chinese gangs and secret societies; shortly after it began to be used to describe politicians (although merely those who were unscrupulous, and not necessarily violent).
Example:
"Until political highbinders, hypocrites and deceivers have their lying voices stilled and their vicious writings punished by drastic libel laws, we may not under any system secure the best choice of candidates for office." — Ralph S. Boots, The Direct Primary in New Jersey, 1917
