Dictionary

thimblerig en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈθɪmbəlɹɪɡ/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From thimble + rig.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) A game of skill which requires the bettor to guess under which of three small cups (or thimbles) a pea-sized object has been placed after the party operating the game rapidly rearranges them, providing opportunity for sleight-of-hand trickery; a shell game.
   • ‘Great Barnums?’ says I. ‘You're a ringer for a circus thimblerig man.’ 1908, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “Modern Rural Sports”, in The Gentle Grafter, New York, N.Y.: The McClure Company, →OCLC:
   • He’ll muddle away the Begum’s fortune at thimble-rig, be caught picking pockets, and finish on board the hulks. 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 45, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:
2. (countable, uncountable) One operating such a game.

Forms

Deriveds

thimbleriggery

Synonyms

shell game · thimblerigger

Translations (10)

es trilero (person operating such a game — see also thimblerigger) · ru напёрсточник (person operating such a game — see also thimblerigger) · pl gra w trzy kubki i groszek (sleight-of-hand betting game — see also shell game) · hu itt a piros (sleight-of-hand betting game — see also shell game) · es trilera (person operating such a game — see also thimblerigger) · ru напёрстки (sleight-of-hand betting game — see also shell game) · bg тука има - тука няма (sleight-of-hand betting game — see also shell game) · es trile (sleight-of-hand betting game — see also shell game) · pl osoba prowadząca grę w trzy kubki i groszek (person operating such a game — see also thimblerigger) · tl tatlong-didal (sleight-of-hand betting game — see also shell game)

wikipedia: Saint-Germain-en-Laye · wikipedia: cups and balls · wikipedia: Hieronymus Bosch

thimblerig en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈθɪmbəlɹɪɡ/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From thimble + rig.

Meanings

1. (intransitive) To operate a thimblerig game.
   • Old Pratt is a different kind of crook—a psalm-singing, pussyfooted old buccaneer, teaching a Bible class on Sundays and thimblerigging in Wall Street on week days. 1916, Irvin S. Cobb, “Enter the villain”, in Local Color:
2. (ambitransitive, figuratively) To cheat (someone) by trickery.
   • The favor is to you. I do not permit any man to thimblerig his debts to me into my debts to him. 1905, David Graham Phillips, The Plum Tree:

Forms

Relateds

three-card monte

wikipedia: Saint-Germain-en-Laye · wikipedia: cups and balls · wikipedia: Hieronymus Bosch