Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

thimblerig

/ˈθɪmbəlɹɪɡ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: thim-ble-rig
IPA: /ˈθɪmbəlɹɪɡ/

18

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

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.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

One operating such a game.

Countable; Uncountable

verb

To operate a thimblerig game.

Intransitive verb

verb

To cheat (someone) by trickery.

Example Sentences

"He’ll muddle away the Begum’s fortune at thimble-rig, be caught picking pockets, and finish on board the hulks."
"‘Great Barnums?’ says I. ‘You're a ringer for a circus thimblerig man.’"
"Old Pratt is a different kind of crook—a psalm-singing, pussyfooted old buccaneer, teaching a Bible class on Sundays and thimblerigging in Wall Street on week days."
"The favor is to you. I do not permit any man to thimblerig his debts to me into my debts to him."

Etymology

From thimble + rig.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈθɪmbəlɹɪɡ/
British English: /ˈθɪmbəlɹɪɡ/

Usage

Inflected Forms

thimblerigs (plural) thimble-rig (alternative) thimblerigs (present, singular) thimblerigging (participle, present) thimblerigged (participle, past) thimblerigged (past)

Derived Forms

thimbleriggery

Phrases

three-card monte

Frequently Paired Words

three-card monte

Synonyms

shell game thimblerigger

Questions

How do you pronounce thimblerig?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈθɪmbəlɹɪɡ/.
What does thimblerig mean?: 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.
Where does thimblerig come from?: From thimble + rig.

How to pronounce thimblerig

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “thimblerig”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈθɪmbəlɹɪɡ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “thimblerig”.
Repeat and practice — Say “thimblerig” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.