tops n.2
(gambling) doctored dice used for cheating purposes.
![[US]](/static/img/flags/us.png "United States") | Hooch! 87: Take that out an’ buy yourself a set o’ tops. | |
| Rough Stuff 136: These phoney dice are called ‘tops.’. | |
| et al. DAUL 224/2: Tops. Crudely loaded dice, capable of being used only upon the most gullible of victims. [Note: Tops are manipulated in and out of play by the swindlers. They are so weighted as to guarantee the turning up of a single combination of numbers.]. |
In compounds
1. fake gemstones, with a very thin layer of the genuine jewel stuck on top .
![[UK]](/static/img/flags/uk.png "United Kingdom") | Sharpe of the Flying Squad 282: ‘Tops and Bottoms’ are another means of making easy money [...] They are fake stones with real tops stuck on. A very thin layer of real emerald or diamond, for instance, is glued to the top of a big piece of similarly shaped imitation stone. |
2. (US gambling) crooked dice.
| ‘Vocab. of Bums’ in AS IV:5 345: Tops and bottoms — Mis-spotted dice. | |
| Und. Speaks. | |
| Complete Guide to Gambling 693: Tops and bottoms – gaffed dice which bear only 3 different numbers on each die. |
3. (UK Und.) a roll of money with large denomination notes visible at the the top and bottom but blank paper, trimmed to size, in between.
| Ghost Squad 53: In his pockets were bundles of ‘tops and bottoms’ — rolls of ‘notes’ with genuine fivers on top and bottom and sheets of toilet paper [...] their edges trimmed to look like notes, in between. |