thimble-rig
Preserved but no longer current.
A noted cheating game some years back, played at fairs and places of great public thronging, consisting of two or three thimbles rapidly and dexterously placed over a pea. The THIMBLE-RIGGER, suddenly ceasing, asks under which thimble the pea is to be found. Any one not a practised hand would lose nine times out of ten any bet he might happen to make with him. The pea is generally concealed under his nail. THIMBLE-RIGGING has of late years given way to "broad-working."
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “thimble-rig” mean?
A noted cheating game some years back, played at fairs and places of great public thronging, consisting of two or three thimbles rapidly and dexterously placed over a pea. The THIMBLE-RIGGER, suddenly ceasing, asks under which thimble the pea is to be found. Any one not a practised hand would lose nine times out of ten any bet he might happen to make with him. The pea is generally concealed under his nail. THIMBLE-RIGGING has of late years given way to "broad-working."
Is “thimble-rig” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.