American

a method of deceiving or cheating someone, by moving things from one place to another in order to hide what you are doing.

The thieves played a shell game with the police, constantly shifting the stolen goods.

He owns many small businesses in different states as part of a shell game to save on taxes.

• be at someone's beck and call
• beat someone's brains out
• beat someone to a pulp
• beat someone to it
• beat someone to the punch
• beat someone to within an inch of life
• beat someone to within an inch of their life
• beat someone up
• beat swords into ploughshares
• be at the bottom of
• be at the bottom of something
• beat the bushes
• beat the daylights out of
• beat the daylights out of someone
• beat the drum
• be at the end of tether
• be at the end of your tether
• beat the hell out of
• beat the hell out of someone
• beat the hell out of something
• beat the living daylights out of
• beat the living daylights out of someone
• be at the mercy of
• be at the mercy of someone
• be at the mercy of something