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- DictionaryShell game/ˈSHel ˌɡām/
noun
- 1. a game involving sleight of hand, in which three inverted cups or nutshells are moved about, and contestants must spot which is the one with a pea or other object underneath. North American
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The shell game (also known as thimblerig, three shells and a pea, the old army game) is often portrayed as a gambling game, but in reality, when a wager for money is made, it is almost always a confidence trick used to perpetrate fraud. [1]
The shell game, a swindling trick in which a small ball or pea is quickly shifted from under one to another of three walnut shells or cups to fool the spectator guessing its location, is a version of one of the oldest and most widespread forms of sleight of hand.
A shell game is a swindle, a fraud, especially one in which items or information are shifted around in a secret manner to avoid detection. We tend to use it to describe situations where the real or valuable item, like the pea under the shell, is hidden or obscured with distractions.
Shell game definition: a sleight-of-hand swindling game resembling thimblerig but employing walnut shells or the like instead of thimblelike cups.. See examples of SHELL GAME used in a sentence.
SHELL GAME meaning: a dishonest betting game in which someone hides a ball under one of three cups or shells, moves the cups or shells around quickly, and asks an observer to guess which one the ball is under often used figuratively to describe dishonest actions that are done to trick people.
2 days ago · noun. a swindling sleight-of-hand game; victim guesses which of three things a pellet is under. synonyms: thimblerig. see more.
shell game. [countable] an act by an organization or a politician that tricks people in a clever way. Definition of shell game noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
a sleight-of-hand swindling game resembling thimblerig but employing walnut shells or the like instead of thimblelike cups.
Shell Game definition: A game, usually involving gambling, in which a person hides a small object underneath one of three nutshells, thimbles, or cups, then shuffles them about on a flat surface while spectators try to guess the final location of the object.
a sleight-of-hand swindling game resembling thimblerig but employing walnut shells or the like instead of thimblelike cups. any deceit, swindle, fraud, or the like. Origin of shell game
