thimblerigger means someone who cheats by thimblerigging, or similar tricks involving sleight of hand. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “thimblerigger” is a great word
THIMBLERIGGER — [Noun] A person who cheats others using a sleight-of-hand game, such as the shell game. From *thimblerig* (a swindling game, from *thimble* + *rig*, in the British sense of "a swindle, fraud") with the agent suffix *-er*. Unlike a "grifter," who engineers elaborate, psychological cons, or a "sharper," a general term for a cunning gambler, the thimblerigger is a specialist in a singular, kinetic fraud. It is the flicker of the wrist over a makeshift table, the rhythmic clatter of inverted cups, and the goading smile that invites you to bet against your own eyes—a portable theatre where the only sure outcome is your loss, and the oldest commerce, where hope is exchanged for nothing.
noun
- Someone who cheats by thimblerigging, or similar tricks involving sleight of hand.““[…] Them rich fellers, they don't make no bad breaks with their money. They watch it all th' time b'cause they know blame well there ain't hardly room fer their feet fer th' pikers an' tin-horns an' thimble-riggers what are layin' fer 'em. […]””