Vocabulary in Topdog/Underdog

A street con game where a dealer shuffles three cards face-down and dares onlookers to track and pick the winning card; the dealer uses sleight of hand to ensure the mark always loses.

A swindle or street con — a scheme designed to trick people out of their money through skill and deception rather than honest work.

Here, the paid role of a person who is meant to be shot at; Lincoln literally sits still so customers can aim at him as part of an arcade act.

Having genuinely changed one's ways and given up a dishonest or criminal past life, not just claiming to have done so.

Short for legitimate — meaning lawful, honest work that does not involve cheating, stealing, or running cons.

The fast, smooth, rehearsed talk a street hustler uses to draw in a crowd, keep their attention, and distract them while the con is being run.

Skillful, deceptive movements of the hands used to manipulate cards or objects so quickly that onlookers cannot see what is really happening.

White theatrical makeup applied to the face so a performer can pass as a different race or character; here Lincoln wears it to portray the historical President at an arcade.

An amusement venue with coin-operated games and novelty attractions; in this play it is the place where Lincoln is paid to be 'shot' as part of a historical re-enactment booth.

An exact copy or living imitation of something or someone; Lincoln uses the word to describe himself as a stand-in for the historical president.

A real, named individual from history — as opposed to a fictional character; Lincoln uses the phrase to describe the president whose assassination he re-enacts for pay.

Money or property passed on by a parent or relative; here each brother received $500 in an envelope from their parents the night they were abandoned.

In three-card monte, the person who throws and controls the cards — the one running the con and manipulating the game against the players.

A cheap lodging house where residents rent a single room and share common spaces; it signals poverty and a lack of stable, private housing.

A low-cost building where people rent individual rooms, often with shared bathrooms and no kitchen; a step below an apartment and associated with poverty.

A confidence trick — a scheme in which a swindler gains a victim's trust in order to cheat them out of money.

To bet a sum of money on the outcome of a game or contest, risking losing it if you are wrong.

Falls or collapses heavily and limply, as a body does when it loses all muscle control — here indicating Lincoln has been shot and is dying.

Holds someone gently and closely in one's arms, the way you would hold a baby — here Booth holds his dying brother with grief and tenderness.

To defeat or outdo someone; used here as a verb meaning no one can beat or surpass the speaker.