THREE-CARD MONTE Synonyms: 39 Similar Words

three-card monte

noun

Definition of three-card monte

as in thimblerig

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of three-card monte These characters are fluent in three-card monte rap, no cards required. — Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2025 Smith, according to law enforcement, was basically playing three-card monte with wire transfers and bogus bank statements to help cover his high times and high-risk investments. — Neal Rubin, Detroit Free Press, 8 June 2024 Booth, a street hustler, wants Lincoln to teach him three-card monte, a game Lincoln mastered before giving it up for a respectable, if demoralizing, job. — Imani Perry Janina Edwards Krish Seenivasan Devin Murphy, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024 Or can one side be played as a sucker during a game of three-card monte on the sidewalk outside the dingy bus terminal? — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 11 Feb. 2024 See All Example Sentences for three-card monte

Recent Examples of Synonyms for three-card monte

Noun

That means swinging a Joy-Con controller to simulate using a tennis racket or tossing a bowling ball.

— Andrew Webster, The Verge, 20 Oct. 2026
Mitt reminds me of these famous sports dads — Earl Woods, Richard Williams, Marv Marinovich — who put a golf club or tennis racket or football in their kids’ cribs.

— Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of racket

Noun

Among them was the founder of a major pyramid scheme that defrauded thousands of Colombians of their savings, as well as Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman with close ties to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was later extradited to the United States on money-laundering charges.

— John Otis, NPR, 21 June 2026
Attention online—which is to say, the modern entertainment industry at large—can look a bit like a pyramid scheme, with each lower layer trying to siphon a segment of audience away from the more famous one above.

— Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 22 Apr. 2026

Definition of pyramid scheme

Noun

Agnes once controlled the purse strings, but her wayward son Oscar (Blake Ritson) fell for a Ponzi scheme, costing them their fortune.

— Brent Lang, IndieWire, 28 Oct. 2026
Only Bernie Madoff, whose Ponzi scheme defrauded 40,000 investors, comes close in terms of attention.

— Culture Critic, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of Ponzi scheme

Noun

And if the child is still considered a dependent of his parents and the parents live in Georgia, well, the jig will be up.

— R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2026
Then Traitors star Maura Higgins lifted the mood with a spirited jig in honor of her beloved home country of Ireland.

— Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of jig

Noun

One dodge that lockmakers have long used to challenge would-be plunderers is to conceal the existence of the lock itself.

— Stephen Cass, IEEE Spectrum, 26 Oct. 2026
Most Americans don’t sign up to fight and die in those numbers for lawyers’ dodges, legal manipulations, or constitutional theories.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of dodge

Noun

Political stratagems in art were shifting in places like New York and Los Angeles, and the Pictures Generation’s ethos began to speak to young Black and brown artists, ultimately intersecting with their desire for representation.

— Hilton Als, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Through Elizabeth’s rise from servant to visionary who resisted Henry VIII’s break with the Roman Catholic Church to gain a divorce, Brown explores historical women’s stratagems for self-determination.

— Monitor reviewers, Christian Science Monitor, 17 Apr. 2026

Definition of stratagem

Noun

Outside investigators may examine Huang’s official correspondence, travel schedules, and personal device usage alongside company access logs.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 9 Nov. 2026
While Casher often credited Thomas Organ’s Brad Plunkett as the engineer of the device, the wah-wah pedal was considered Casher’s brainchild.

— Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 8 Nov. 2026

Definition of device

Noun

The strategy has not been confirmed verbatim by the Treasury, but Bessent himself has indicated the scheme worked by buying back more expensive, long-term debt (in which yields, and hence interest, are higher) in lieu of cheaper, short-term debt.

— Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 10 Nov. 2026
In that case, two Nigerian men were convicted in a sextortion scheme that targeted DeMay, 17, and over 100 other victims including 11 minors from halfway around the world.

— Kaitlin McCallum, Hartford Courant, 10 Nov. 2026

Definition of scheme

Browse Nearby Words

threats

three-card monte

three-card montes

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Style

“Three-card monte.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/three-card%20monte. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of three-card monte

noun

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