"Rube" 1846?

[Wilson Gray]

On Dec 27, 2004, at 9:46 AM, George Thompson wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       George Thompson <george.thompson at NYU.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: "Rube" 1846?
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> --------
>
> Sam Clements writes:
>
>> http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0309D&L=ads-
>> l&P=R2697
>>
>> In that message, George Thompson offers :
>>
>> <<1846:   Playing the little "Joker."  [headline]  [A rube visits
>> a] "crib" in Park Row, where . . . the "boys" were playing the
>> thimble rig, commonly called the little Joker.  New York Herald,
>> February 8, 1846, p. 1, col. 4>>
>>
>> I'm curious about the "rube."
>>
>> Did it get picked up by OED and M-W?
>>
>>
> "Rube" was within square brackets, which I meant to indicate that it
> was
> not a part of the original quote, but my words summarizing a passage I
> chose not to quote directly.
>
> GAT
>

What's it mean to be "playing the thimble rig, commonly called the
little Joker"?

-Wilson Gray