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.
Examples of shell game in a Sentence
Dianne Plummer, Forbes.com, 4 July 2025
This is a shell game — follow the ball as the three cups rotate.
—Alexander Ooms, Denver Post, 27 May 2025
Trump plays 'shell game' with immigration cases: expert Steven Vladeck, a law professor at Georgetown University, noted that in a bevy of recent court rulings, the Trump administration tried to slow down or defeat immigration cases by moving detainees.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 18 May 2025
Trump lawyers are 'throwing spaghetti against the wall' or are playing a 'shell game' to see what legal strategies work to defend his policies in court battles, experts say.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 18 May 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Shell game.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shell%20game. Accessed 14 Jul. 2025.
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