shell game
noun
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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. Conjurers have performed this trick, which is also called the cups and balls trick and thimblerig, throughout the world for centuries. The version that became popular in the United States in the late 19th century used walnut shells and peas. Shell game thus became the popular term for the trick, and the trick itself became so well known that the term is now used figuratively to describe dishonest actions that are done to deceive people.
Synonyms
Examples of shell game in a Sentence
David McGrath, Orlando Sentinel, 15 June 2024
There’s a potential shell game here — in theory, EMTALA is simply a funding condition on hospitals, not a regulatory rule applied to doctors — but at minimum, the Court has enshrined the solicitor general’s situational concessions on the conscience point in a unanimous opinion.
—The Editors, National Review, 14 June 2024
Anybody hear similar sneering now on this latest shell game?
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 8 Mar. 2024
Life seemed to be some kind of scam, a little shell game, in which every living thing secretly carried the pain of its own loss.
—Sam Anderson, New York Times, 31 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for shell game 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shell game.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Shell game.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shell%20game. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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