pigeon drop

American  

noun

1. a confidence game or sleight-of-hand swindle whereby cash is extracted from the victim as collateral for a supposed share in a large sum of discovered money, dishonest profits, or gambling winnings, which in fact are nonexistent.

---

Etymology

Origin of pigeon drop

1935–40, so called because such swindles originally began with the dropping of a wallet in front of the intended victim, the pigeon