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countable and uncountable, plural thimblerigs
A game of skill which requires the bettor to guess under which of three small cups (or thimbles) a pea-sized object has been placed after the party operating the game rapidly rearranges them, providing opportunity for sleight-of-hand trickery; a shell game. quotations examples
He’ll muddle away the Begum’s fortune at thimble-rig, be caught picking pockets, and finish on board the hulks.
1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 45, in The History of Pendennis. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850
One operating such a game. examples
third-person singular simple present thimblerigs, present participle thimblerigging, simple past and past participle thimblerigged
(intransitive) To cheat in the thimblerig game. examples
(transitive, intransitive, figuratively) To cheat (someone) by trickery. examples