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
While a bit more inside baseball than other comments the U.S. Attorney’s office made in its 13-page letter Monday, the prosecution’s assertion of the shell game being played by the defense may prove the most damning in any bail determination.
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Dominic Patten, Deadline, 25 Nov. 2024
But given how much of the plot of this show is apparent from the get-go, McKay and Payne are also guilty of playing narrative shell games with their main characters to stall for time.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2024
Since last summer, the Justice Department appears to have been playing a clever shell game.
—Christine Biederman, WIRED, 18 June 2019
Now, the biggest barrier has been removed, and colleges can pay players directly without the shell game of NIL deals.
—Bruce Haring, Deadline, 26 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for shell game
Dominic Patten, Deadline, 25 Nov. 2024
But given how much of the plot of this show is apparent from the get-go, McKay and Payne are also guilty of playing narrative shell games with their main characters to stall for time.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2024
Since last summer, the Justice Department appears to have been playing a clever shell game.
—Christine Biederman, WIRED, 18 June 2019
Now, the biggest barrier has been removed, and colleges can pay players directly without the shell game of NIL deals.
—Bruce Haring, Deadline, 26 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for shell game
Cite this Entry
“Shell game.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shell%20game. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
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