pigeon drop
noun
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.
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WHO SAID IT: A QUIZ ON PRESIDENTIAL WIT AND WISDOM
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“I do believe that the buck stops here, that I cannot rely upon public opinion polls to tell me what is right. I do believe that right makes might and that if I am wrong, 10 angels swearing I was right would make no difference.”
Origin of pigeon drop
1935–40, Americanism; so called because such swindles originally began with the dropping of a wallet in front of the intended victim, the pigeon
Words nearby pigeon drop
pig boiling, pig dog, pigeon, pigeon blood, pigeon breast, pigeon drop, pigeon hawk, pigeon-hearted, pigeonhole, pigeonite, pigeon-livered
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020