sleight
Conjurer's nimble craft
Sleight is dexterity or cunning, especially in deceiving.
The word appears almost exclusively in sleight of hand—the skill of performing tricks so quickly or deftly that observers can't follow what's happening.
Magicians use sleight of hand literally; politicians and salesmen use it figuratively to misdirect attention from what they're really doing.
Grasping body part
- prestidigitationSkillful hand-based illusions
- legerdemainSkillful hand-based deception
- nimblenessEase of quick movement
- agilityQuickness and ease
finesse · adroitness · deftness · manipulation · coordination · precision · skill · proficiency
Deliberate deception or fraud
- cunningSly, scheming cleverness
- guileSly, strategic dishonesty
- artificeClever deceptive strategy
- subterfugeDeliberate deception to conceal
Performing magical illusions
- illusionMisleading sensory impression
- trickDeliberate deception
- prestidigitatorPractitioner of legerdemain
- magicianPerformer of illusions
misdirection · vanish · card trick · coin trick · close-up magic · stage magic · Houdini · performance
hand
Grasping body part
- prestidigitationSkillful hand-based illusions
- legerdemainSkillful hand-based deception
- nimblenessEase of quick movement
agility · finesse · adroitness · deftness · manipulation · coordination · precision · skill · proficiency · adeptness
trickery
Deliberate deception or fraud
subterfuge · chicanery · dupery · ruse · ploy · sham · hoax · con · scam · fraud
conjuring
Performing magical illusions
- illusionMisleading sensory impression
- trickDeliberate deception
- prestidigitatorPractitioner of legerdemain
magician · misdirection · vanish · card trick · coin trick · close-up magic · stage magic · Houdini · performance · spectacle
- dexteritydexterous, nimble, agile, adroit, deft
- gimmicksgimmick, trick, ploy, stunt, gag
- tricksmagic trick, card trick, card tricks, coin trick, rope trick
- magicwizard, wand, sorcerer, witchcraft, mage
- skillsskills, skill, ability, abilities, competencies
- athleticismspeed, agility, strength, endurance, stamina
sleightclumsiness
Lack of physical grace
awkwardness · ungainliness · gracelessness · klutziness · gawkiness
sleightwitlessness
Lack of sense
dullness · obtuseness · stupidity · denseness · doltishness
sleightbrute force
Power over technique
bluntness · crudeness · heavy-handedness · directness · forcefulness
- sleight of handSkillful manual deception
- sleight-of-hand expertSkilled manual illusionist