thimblerig
[ thim-buh l-rig ]
/ ˈθɪm bəlˌrɪg /
noun
a sleight-of-hand swindling game in which the operator palms a pellet or pea while appearing to cover it with one of three thimblelike cups, and then, moving the cups about, offers to bet that no one can tell under which cup the pellet or pea lies.
verb (used with object), thim·ble·rigged, thim·ble·rig·ging.
to cheat by or as by the thimblerig.
OTHER WORDS FROM thimblerig
thim·ble·rig·ger, nounWords nearby thimblerig
thigmotropism,
thill,
thimble,
thimbleberry,
thimbleful,
thimblerig,
thimbleweed,
thimblewit,
thimbu,
thimerosal,
thimphu
Example sentences from the Web for thimble-rigging
Some day or other a serious student wakes up to the fact that he is the victim of—shall we say a thimble-rigging game?
An American at Oxford |John CorbinThimble-rigging has of late years given way to broad-working.
The Slang Dictionary |John Camden HottenSome of these gentry play a game very much like thimble-rigging, in which copper cash, appears under different inverted teacups.
British Dictionary definitions for thimble-rigging
thimblerig
/ (ˈθɪmbəlˌrɪɡ) /
noun
a game in which the operator rapidly moves about three inverted thimbles, often with sleight of hand, one of which conceals a token, the other player betting on which thimble the token is under
verb -rigs, -rigging or -rigged
(tr)
to cheat or swindle, as in this game
Derived forms of thimblerig
thimblerigger, nounWord Origin for thimblerig
C19: from
thimble +
rig (in obsolete sense: a trick, scheme)