Thimblerig (Noun)
Meaning
A swindling sleight-of-hand game; victim guesses which of three things a pellet is under.
Classification
Nouns denoting acts or actions.
Examples
- The shady street performer made a living running a thimblerig game, cheating tourists out of their money with his quick hands.
- As a warning to locals, the authorities posted signs around town describing the tactics of the thimblerig operator who had recently been swindling people.
- Playing a thimblerig was seen as common practice in the underworld of 19th-century street gamblers.
- He was taken in by a smooth-talking scam artist who challenged him to a game of thimblerig, promising easy winnings.
- Running a thimblerig from the back of a wagon, the traveling con artist made his way across the countryside, swindling the unsuspecting wherever he went.