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

Their rackets—plunder, opium trafficking, and much else—were often run not by members of established yakuza gangs but by fixers and political operators who exploited their connections with the Imperial Japanese Army.

— Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
The racket clanged off the metal bar and didn’t injure any fans, but the crowd audibly gasped at Atmane’s petulance, as the racket didn’t miss them by much.

— Ryan Canfield OutKick, FOXNews.com, 8 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

Boeing would have to find out what tooling still exists, rebuild jigs and dies, locate or replace hundreds of suppliers, requalify manufacturing processes, recruit specialist workers, and possibly redesign components that are no longer available.

— Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 19 Sep. 2026
The videos, which are projected to fill a single wall, were shot with two iPhone 15s mounted together in a handheld jig, producing two images, one for each eye.

— Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of jig

Noun

Waggling the controller for light and heavy attacks while pressing the buttons to parry, blow, and dodge reminded me of the motion-control scheme Capcom implemented for Street Fighter 6's Switch 2 port.

— Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 6 Aug. 2026
While the fuel-oil tax-dodge is a relatively recent phenomenon, purloined Mexican fuel, known simply as huachicol, has circulated for decades.

— Foreign Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 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

Known as the FiberMotor, the device was developed by a team of researchers at the EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) university in Switzerland.

— Ben Coxworth October 11, New Atlas, 11 Oct. 2026
Silver said players routinely use wearable devices off the court to monitor everything from sleep to physical performance, but concerns remain over how data collected during games could be used by teams.

— Jessica Golden, CNBC, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of device

Noun

The court order stems from a finding that Shkreli organized an anti-competitive scheme to perpetuate his company Vyera Pharmaceuticals’ monopoly in the anti-parasitic drug Daraprim.

— Dan Mangan, CNBC, 13 Oct. 2026
Similar Excel spreadsheets are used to organize schemes where Indian scammers in Delhi or Kolkata impersonate Microsoft tech support, the Internal Revenue Service or even the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

— Snigdha Poonam, The Dial, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of scheme

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threats

three-card monte

three-card montes

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“Three-card monte.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/three-card%20monte. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of three-card monte

noun

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