thimblerig
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.
to cheat by or as by the thimblerig.
Origin of thimblerig
1Other words from thimblerig
- thim·ble·rig·ger, noun
Words Nearby thimblerig
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use thimblerig in a sentence
The real name of this man Crockett never told, but assigned to him the nickname “thimblerig.”
Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 8 | Charles H. SylvesterA Tory told me it was a second edition of the thimblerig speech, which, if so, will not do him good.
The Greville Memoirs | Charles C. F. GrevilleHow terribly alike are all human rogueries, whether the scene be a conference at Vienna, or the tent of a thimblerig at Ascot!
The Fortunes Of Glencore | Charles James Lever
British Dictionary definitions for thimblerig
/ (ˈθɪmbəlˌrɪɡ) /
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
(tr) to cheat or swindle, as in this game
Origin of thimblerig
1Derived forms of thimblerig
- thimblerigger, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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