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
The climate shell game Carbon credits are financial commodities that allow companies, governments and other organizations to compensate for their climate pollution by investing in projects that reduce or eliminate emissions elsewhere.
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Júlia Ledur, Washington Post, 24 July 2024
Congress should therefore legislate an end to anonymous corporations and shed light on shell games and illicit operations by requiring those who control companies to declare themselves.
—Ely Ratner, Foreign Affairs, 12 Dec. 2019
Perhaps 11-year-olds would have gotten burned in Trump’s shell game.
—David McGrath, Orlando Sentinel, 15 June 2024
There’s a potential shell game here — in theory, EMTALA is simply a funding condition on hospitals, not a regulatory rule applied to doctors — but at minimum, the Court has enshrined the solicitor general’s situational concessions on the conscience point in a unanimous opinion.
—The Editors, National Review, 14 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for shell game 
Júlia Ledur, Washington Post, 24 July 2024
Congress should therefore legislate an end to anonymous corporations and shed light on shell games and illicit operations by requiring those who control companies to declare themselves.
—Ely Ratner, Foreign Affairs, 12 Dec. 2019
Perhaps 11-year-olds would have gotten burned in Trump’s shell game.
—David McGrath, Orlando Sentinel, 15 June 2024
There’s a potential shell game here — in theory, EMTALA is simply a funding condition on hospitals, not a regulatory rule applied to doctors — but at minimum, the Court has enshrined the solicitor general’s situational concessions on the conscience point in a unanimous opinion.
—The Editors, National Review, 14 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for shell game
Thesaurus Entries Near shell game
Cite this Entry
“Shell game.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shell%20game. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.
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