Meanings
plural shell games
- A game of skill which requires the bettor to guess which of three small cups (or shells) a pea-sized object is concealed under, after the party operating the game rapidly rearranges them, providing opportunity for sleight-of-hand trickery.
Another common form of short con is the shell game. This scam has the advantage of giving the criminal the ability to rip off many marks all at one location.
2009, Michael Benson, Cons and Frauds, Infobase, →ISBN, page 21Synonyms: thimblerig
- Any confidence scheme, especially one involving the rapid movement of investment funds to a location beyond recovery.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA game of skill which requires the bettor to guess which of three small cups (or shells) a pea-sized object is concealed under, after the party operating the game rapidly rearranges them, providing opportunity for sleight-of-hand trickery.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna swindling sleight-of-hand game; victim guesses which of three things a pellet is under
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Bulgarian тука има тука няма
- тука има тука няма (tuka ima tuka njama)game which requires the bettor to guess under which of three small cups a pea-sized object has been placed
Czech skořápky
- skořápkygame which requires the bettor to guess under which of three small cups a pea-sized object has been placed
German Hütchenspiel
- Hütchenspielgame which requires the bettor to guess under which of three small cups a pea-sized object has been placed
Hungarian itt a piros, hol a piros
- itt a piros, hol a pirosgame which requires the bettor to guess under which of three small cups a pea-sized object has been placed
Irish cluiche sliogán, cleas na méaracán
- cluiche sliogángame which requires the bettor to guess under which of three small cups a pea-sized object has been placed
- cleas na méaracángame which requires the bettor to guess under which of three small cups a pea-sized object has been placed
Polish gra w trzy kubki i groszek
- gra w trzy kubki i groszekgame which requires the bettor to guess under which of three small cups a pea-sized object has been placed
Romanian alba-neagra
- alba-neagragame which requires the bettor to guess under which of three small cups a pea-sized object has been placed
Russian напёрстки
- напёрстки (napjórstki)game which requires the bettor to guess under which of three small cups a pea-sized object has been placed
Spanish trile, Pepito paga doble
- trilegame which requires the bettor to guess under which of three small cups a pea-sized object has been placed
- Pepito paga doblegame which requires the bettor to guess under which of three small cups a pea-sized object has been placed
- mosquetagame which requires the bettor to guess under which of three small cups a pea-sized object has been placed
Swedish bägarspelet
- bägarspeletgame which requires the bettor to guess under which of three small cups a pea-sized object has been placed
Welsh tric y tri gwniadur
- tric y tri gwniadurgame which requires the bettor to guess under which of three small cups a pea-sized object has been placed
Cite this entry
shell game. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shell%20game
“shell game.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shell%20game. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shell game,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shell%20game.
Source: shell game on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.