noun
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another name for sleight of hand
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cunning deception or trickery
Other Word Forms
- legerdemainist noun
Etymology
Origin of legerdemain
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English legerdemeyn, lygarde de mayne “skill in conjuring, sleight of hand,” from Middle French léger de main “nimble, skillful,” literally “light of hand” (unrecorded)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Mr. Barnes uses his neatly attired Englishness as camouflage for narrative experimentation and legerdemain.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026
Today we discuss cliff-hangers, the Founding Fathers and legerdemain.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 6, 2024
Landrieu, however, defends at least some of this semantic legerdemain.
From Washington Post • Jun. 15, 2022
Bradley’s linguistic legerdemain totally changed both the amendment’s meaning and its potential as a means for the federal government to protect Black voters.
From Slate • Dec. 9, 2021
His door stood open to the morning, and he hummed under his breath while his right hand practiced legerdemain.
From "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
