thimblerig

Definitions

1. 1.A sleight-of-hand trick played with three small cups, shaped like thimbles, and a small ball or little pea.
2. 2.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.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Related questions

• What does "thimblerig" mean?

Reverse-dictionary questions

Definition-first questions whose answer is thimblerig.

• What is a sleight-of-hand trick played with three small cups, shaped like thimbles, and a small ball or little pea called?