thimblerig

Etymology

, c. 1502, detail) by Hieronymus Bosch and/or his workshop, collection of the Musée Municipal in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Île-de-France, France. A man of rank is shown peering spellbound at a game of cups and balls, similar to thimblerig, operated by a conjurer. (The full painting can be viewed here.)]] From thimble + rig.

noun

1. A game of skill which requires the bettor to guess under which of three small cups (or thimbles) a pea-sized object has been placed after the party operating the game rapidly rearranges them, providing opportunity for sleight-of-hand trickery; a shell game.
2. One operating such a game.

verb

1. (intransitive) To cheat in the thimblerig game.
2. (transitive, intransitive, figurative) To cheat (someone) by trickery.