as in scam
an instance of the use of dishonest methods to acquire something of value
it's amazing how intelligent people fall for that investment-fund shell game
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Recent Examples of shell game
To demonstrate that point in a video, a researcher told a robot arm to put a bunch of plastic grapes into a clear Tupperware container, then proceeded to shift three containers around on the table in an approximation of a shyster’s shell game.
—
Eliza Strickland, IEEE Spectrum, 12 Mar. 2025
Because Florida officials knew the insurance companies were playing this financial shell game years ago.
—Scott Maxwell, Sun Sentinel, 2 Mar. 2025
This is the shell game designed to hide a huge shift in resources to benefit men’s football and basketball.
—Donna Lopiano, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025
If Coen fails to deliver in Jacksonville, he will be remembered as the guy who torpedoed his own career while playing a shell game.
—John Romano, Orlando Sentinel, 25 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shell game
Eliza Strickland, IEEE Spectrum, 12 Mar. 2025
Because Florida officials knew the insurance companies were playing this financial shell game years ago.
—Scott Maxwell, Sun Sentinel, 2 Mar. 2025
This is the shell game designed to hide a huge shift in resources to benefit men’s football and basketball.
—Donna Lopiano, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025
If Coen fails to deliver in Jacksonville, he will be remembered as the guy who torpedoed his own career while playing a shell game.
—John Romano, Orlando Sentinel, 25 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shell game
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shell game
scam
Noun
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Vague delivery details could signal a scam Here's how the scam works, according to the BBB: Need a break?—
Betty Lin-Fisher,
USA Today,
7 June 2025
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Thankfully, all the scam spam doesn’t seem to have killed anyone’s appetite for the grift as a genre.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
7 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shell game.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shell%20game. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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