cups-and-balls
Conjurer's shell game
Cups-and-balls is a classic sleight-of-hand magic trick in which small balls appear to pass through, vanish from, or multiply under inverted cups.
The performer manipulates the balls while spectators try to follow their movements.
The routine dates to ancient times and remains a fundamental test of a magician's manual dexterity: Every close-up magician learns cups-and-balls.
Hiding object in hand
- misdirectionIntentional focus manipulation
- sleight-of-handSkillful manual deception
- prestidigitationSkillful hand-based illusions
- legerdemainSkillful hand-based deception
dexterity · manipulation · concealment · vanish · reappear · finesse · nimbleness · hand-eye
Performer of illusions
- buskerPublic-space entertainer seeking donations
- audienceGathered viewers collectively
- showmanshipSkill at impressive presentation
- entertainmentAgreeable diversion of attention
stage · routine · act · vaudeville · cabaret · circus · carnival · festival
Cup-shuffling confidence trick
- monteSpanish betting card game
- conArgument against
- scamDishonest money-making scheme
- hustleEnergetic, aggressive action
grift · flimflam · bunko · cheat · mark · shill · fast-talk · rigged
Thin ceremonial stick
Very old indeed
- EgyptianRelating to the pharaohs' land
- RomanOf ancient Italy's capital
- GreekOf Athenian origin
- Greco-RomanAntiquity's blended heritage
medieval · Renaissance · Bosch · conjurer · mountebank · fair · marketplace · tradition
palming
Hiding object in hand
- misdirectionIntentional focus manipulation
- sleight-of-handSkillful manual deception
- prestidigitationSkillful hand-based illusions
legerdemain · dexterity · manipulation · concealment · vanish · reappear · finesse · nimbleness · hand-eye · precision
magician
Performer of illusions
- buskerPublic-space entertainer seeking donations
- audienceGathered viewers collectively
- showmanshipSkill at impressive presentation
entertainment · stage · routine · act · vaudeville · cabaret · circus · carnival · festival · spectacle
thimblerig
Cup-shuffling confidence trick
hustle · grift · flimflam · bunko · cheat · mark · shill · fast-talk · rigged
wand
Thin ceremonial stick
ancient
Very old indeed
Greco-Roman · medieval · Renaissance · Bosch · conjurer · mountebank · fair · marketplace · tradition · classic
cups-and-ballsgrand illusion
stage illusion · card tricks · mentalism · escapology · levitation
cups, ball, balls, cupped, cupping, cupful, cupfuls, balled, balling