What does "thimblerig" mean?

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.

What is a synonym for "thimblerig"?

Common synonyms include: shell game, shell game, beat, beguile, beguile of, bilk.

How do you pronounce "thimblerig"?

Pronounced //ˈθɪmbəlɹɪɡ//.

Thimblerig

//ˈθɪmbəlɹɪɡ// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1
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. countable, uncountable
"He’ll muddle away the Begum’s fortune at thimble-rig, be caught picking pockets, and finish on board the hulks."
2
a swindling sleight-of-hand game; victim guesses which of three things a pellet is under wordnet
3
One operating such a game. countable, uncountable

Verb

1
To cheat in the thimblerig game. intransitive
"Old Pratt is a different kind of crook—a psalm-singing, pussyfooted old buccaneer, teaching a Bible class on Sundays and thimblerigging in Wall Street on week days."
2
To cheat (someone) by trickery. ambitransitive, figuratively
"The favor is to you. I do not permit any man to thimblerig his debts to me into my debts to him."