shell game
Americannoun
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a sleight-of-hand swindling game resembling thimblerig but employing walnut shells or the like instead of thimblelike cups.
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any deceit, swindle, fraud, or the like.
noun
Etymology
Origin of shell game
An Americanism dating back to 1885–90
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The tradwives claiming otherwise on social media are playing a shell game.
From Salon • Nov. 27, 2023
If you see anyone playing three-card monte or a shell game, just keep walking.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 28, 2023
"Your assets can be moved around in whatever shell game Binance prefers. And in the end, whenever everything crashes you're last in line," Stark told Reuters.
From Reuters • Jun. 6, 2023
An unreliable narrator is an invitation to a shell game.
From New York Times • May 16, 2023
Each had a sea sponge underneath, like a rigged shell game.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
