legerdemain
Sleight of hand
Legerdemain is sleight of hand—the quick, deft movements magicians use to make objects appear, disappear, or transform: The coin vanished through pure legerdemain.
The word extends to any skillful trickery or deception, especially clever maneuvering that obscures what's really happening: financial legerdemain, legal legerdemain.
Deliberate deception or fraud
- subterfugeDeliberate deception to conceal
- chicaneryDeception through clever manipulation
- duplicityDeliberate misleading behavior
- cunningSly, scheming cleverness
artifice · ruse · stratagem · ploy · feint · smokescreen · misdirection · bait-and-switch
Deceptive feats with decks
- palmingHiding object in hand
- misdirectionIntentional focus manipulation
- close-up magicIllusions performed nearby
- coin tricksIllusions using small change
manipulation · dexterity · nimbleness · finesse · flourish · pass · switch · force
Misleading visual perception
- mirageAtmospheric optical deception
- phantasmIllusory supernatural appearance
- apparitionVisible supernatural manifestation
- hallucinationPerception without external cause
delusion · chimera · figment · simulacrum · hologram · trompe-l'oeil · smoke and mirrors · trick of the light
Skill at impressive presentation
- stagecraftTheater production expertise
- theatricsExaggerated dramatic behavior
- spectacleVisually striking event
- illusionistPerformer of visual deception
Houdini · escapology · cabaret · vaudeville · variety show · busking · flourish · patter
Strategic power-seeking tactics
- spinRapid rotation around axis
- legal loopholeExploitable gap in law
- creative accountingMisleading financial reporting
trickery
Deliberate deception or fraud
- subterfugeDeliberate deception to conceal
- chicaneryDeception through clever manipulation
- duplicityDeliberate misleading behavior
cunning · artifice · ruse · stratagem · ploy · feint · smokescreen · misdirection · bait-and-switch · red herring
card tricks
Deceptive feats with decks
- palmingHiding object in hand
- misdirectionIntentional focus manipulation
- close-up magicIllusions performed nearby
coin tricks · manipulation · dexterity · nimbleness · finesse · flourish · pass · switch · force · cups and balls
optical illusion
Misleading visual perception
- mirageAtmospheric optical deception
- phantasmIllusory supernatural appearance
- apparitionVisible supernatural manifestation
hallucination · delusion · chimera · figment · simulacrum · hologram · trompe-l'oeil · smoke and mirrors · trick of the light · fantasy
showmanship
Skill at impressive presentation
- stagecraftTheater production expertise
- theatricsExaggerated dramatic behavior
- spectacleVisually striking event
illusionist · Houdini · escapology · cabaret · vaudeville · variety show · busking · flourish · patter · reveal
political maneuvering
Strategic power-seeking tactics
- spinRapid rotation around axis
- legal loopholeExploitable gap in law
- creative accountingMisleading financial reporting
legerdemainhonesty
Truthfulness, sincerity
candor · forthrightness · sincerity · transparency · directness
legerdemainclumsiness
Lack of physical grace
awkwardness · ineptness · fumbling · ham-handedness · maladroitness
legerdemainreality
What actually exists
authenticity · genuineness · substance · the real thing · plain truth
magician, sleight, sleight of hand, conjuring, prestidigitation