shell game

shell game
a) A game of skill which requires the bettor to guess under which of three small cups (or shells) a pea-sized object has been placed after the party operating the game rapidly rearranges them, providing opportunity for sleight-of-hand trickery.
b) Any confidence scheme, especially one involving the rapid movement of investment funds to a location beyond recovery.

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  • shell game — n AmE a dishonest method of doing something, in which you pretend to be doing one thing when you are really doing another ▪ Critics called the proposal a shell game …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • shell game — shell′ game n. 1) gam a swindling game in which a small object is supposedly hidden under one of three walnut shells or the like and bets are made 2) any swindle or fraud • Etymology: 1885–90, amer …   From formal English to slang

  • shell game — ☆ shell game n. 1. a game, typically a swindle, in which spectators are challenged to bet on the location of a small object ostensibly concealed under one of three cups or nutshells manipulated by sleight of hand 2. any scheme for tricking and… …   English World dictionary

  • Shell game — For other uses, see Shell game (disambiguation). An illegal shell game performed with bottle caps on Fulton Street in New York City The shell game (also known as Thimblerig, Three shells and a pea, the old army game) is portrayed as a gambling… …   Wikipedia

  • shell game — 1. a sleight of hand swindling game resembling thimblerig but employing walnut shells or the like instead of thimblelike cups. 2. any deceit, swindle, fraud, or the like. [1885 90, Amer.] * * * ▪ magic trick also called  Cups And Balls Trick, … …   Universalium

  • Shell Game (pricing game) — Shell Game is a pricing game on the American television game show The Price Is Right . Debuting on June 17, 1974, it is played for a four digit prize worth more than $2,000 (occasionally a car), and uses small prizes.GameplayShell Game is based… …   Wikipedia

  • Shell game (disambiguation) — Shell game is a confidence trick. Shell game may also refer to: * Shell Game (short story) by Philip K. Dick * Shell Game (pricing game), a pricing game from The Price is Right based on the con game * Shell Game , a 1950 novel by Richard P.… …   Wikipedia

  • Shell Game (short story) — Shell Game is a science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick. First published in Galaxy Science Fiction in 1954, it forms an interesting early examination of extreme paranoia. A group of paranoid mental patients are stranded on an alien planet… …   Wikipedia

  • shell game — game of deception in which a small ball is hidden under one of three cup shaped objects which are then moved about while onlookers try and guess the ball s location, thimblerig; fraud …   English contemporary dictionary

  • shell game — Synonyms and related words: bingo, boiler room, bucket shop, bunco game, card games, chuck and toss, chuck farthing, chuck a luck, con game, confidence game, crack loo, crap game, crap shooting, craps, fan tan, goldbrick, hazard, horse racing,… …   Moby Thesaurus

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