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Thimblerig — Thim ble*rig , n. A sleight of hand trick played with three small cups, shaped like thimbles, and a small ball or little pea. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Thimblerig — Thim ble*rig , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Thimblerigged}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Thimblerigging}.] To swindle by means of small cups or thimbles, and a pea or small ball placed under one of them and quickly shifted to another, the victim laying a wager that… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
thimblerig — [thim′bəl rig΄] n. [see RIG] SHELL GAME vt., vi. thimblerigged, thimblerigging to cheat or swindle, as in this game thimblerigger n … English World dictionary
thimblerig — I. noun Date: 1826 1. a swindling trick in which a small ball or pea is quickly shifted from under one to another of three small cups to fool the spectator guessing its location 2. one who manipulates the cup in thimblerig ; thimblerigger II.… … New Collegiate Dictionary
thimblerig — thimblerigger, n. /thim beuhl rig /, n., v., thimblerigged, thimblerigging. n. 1. 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… … Universalium
thimblerig — thim•ble•rig [[t]ˈθɪm bəlˌrɪg[/t]] n. v. rigged, rig•ging 1) gam a shell game in which thimblelike cups are used instead of shells 2) gam to cheat by or as if by thimblerig • Etymology: 1815–25 thim′ble•rig ger, n … From formal English to slang
thimblerig — /ˈθɪmbəlrɪg/ (say thimbuhlrig) noun 1. a swindling game in which the operator apparently covers a small ball or pea with one of three thimble like cups, and then, moving the cups about, offers to bet that no one can tell under which cup the ball… …
thimblerig — Synonyms and related words: beat, beguile of, bilk, boiler room, bucket shop, bunco, bunco game, burn, cheat, chisel, chouse, chouse out of, cog, cog the dice, con, con game, confidence game, cozen, crib, defraud, diddle, do in, do out of, euchre … Moby Thesaurus
thimblerig — n. game of deception in which a small ball is hidden under one of three cup shaped objects which are then moved about while onlookers try and guess the ball s location, shell game v. cheat, swindle, deceive by a quick movement of the hands (in… … English contemporary dictionary
thimblerig — noun a game involving sleight of hand, in which three inverted thimbles or cups are moved about, contestants having to spot which is the one with a pea or other object underneath. Derivatives thimblerigger noun Origin C19: from thimble + rig2 in… … English new terms dictionary
