thimblerig Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a swindling sleight-of-hand game; victim guesses which of three things a pellet is under
    shell game.

WordNet

Thim"ble*rig` noun
Definitions
  1. A sleight-of-hand trick played with three small cups, shaped like thimbles, and a small ball or little pea.
Thim"ble*rig` transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Thimblerigged ; present participle & verbal noun Thimblerigging
Definitions
  1. 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 he knows under which cup it is; hence, to cheat by any trick.

Webster 1913