Meaning
A cunning trickster or con artist who survives by outsmarting and swindling others — a smooth-talker not to be trusted, forever working an angle. Unlike the plain English 'con man', a ginnal is often described with a grudging respect for their sheer cleverness and nerve, and 'ginnalship' is the art of the con itself. A stock figure of Jamaican life and story, the ginnal lives by his wits and his deceptions, admired for his slyness even as he is watched, and the word (also spelt 'jinnal') names one of the great characters of the culture.
Examples
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Watch dat man deh, him a pure ginnal.
Watch that man there, he's a total con artist.
'a pure' here intensifies, meaning 'nothing but' a trickster.
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Yuh cyaan trust him, him ginnal yuh already.
You can't trust him, he already conned you.
'ginnal' used here as a verb meaning to trick someone.
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Di ginnal sell mi a fake phone.
The con artist sold me a fake phone.
No copula needed; the definite article 'di' marks the noun.
Origin
Likely from Akan (Twi), possibly connected to a word for cleverness or trickery brought by enslaved West Africans; the exact source is debated.
How it’s used
Common everyday slang, not vulgar. Can be an insult or a semi-admiring term depending on tone. Also functions as a verb ('to ginnal someone').