A huckster is anyone who sells something or serves biased interests, using pushy or showy tactics. In historical terms, it meant any type of peddler or vendor, but over time it has assumed pejorative connotations.

A peddler, in British English pedlar, also known as a chapman, packman, cheapjack, hawker, higler, huckster, (coster)monger, colporteur or solicitor, is a door-to-door and/or travelling vendor of goods. In 19th-century America the word "drummer" was often used to refer to a peddler or traveling salesman; as exemplified in the popular play Sam'l of Posen; or, The Commercial Drummer by George H. Jessop.