shell game
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Every time I needed a single ingredient, I had to shuffle through a stack of identical, unlabeled bins, opening and closing them like a particularly tedious shell game.
From Salon • Mar. 19, 2026
“It’s a shell game and there’s no way to enforce this stuff because it’s all an algorithm in a black box — how we’re paid and whether or not we get benefits,” Moore said.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2024
If you see anyone playing three-card monte or a shell game, just keep walking.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 28, 2023
"Your assets can be moved around in whatever shell game Binance prefers. And in the end, whenever everything crashes you're last in line," Stark told Reuters.
From Reuters • Jun. 6, 2023
It was a shell game with no actual pea under the rapidly moving cups.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
