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sleight of hand

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noun

skill in feats requiring quick and clever movements of the hands, especially for entertainment or deception, as jugglery, card or coin magic, etc.; legerdemain.
the performance of such feats.
a feat of legerdemain.
skill in deception.

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RELATED WORDS

chicanery, deception, trickery, deceit, double-dealing, hocus-pocus, legerdemain, magic, prestidigitation, conjuration

Nearby words

  1. sleeving,
  2. sleigh,
  3. sleigh bed,
  4. sleigh bell,
  5. sleight,
  6. sleipnir,
  7. slender,
  8. slender loris,
  9. slenderization,
  10. slenderize

Origin of sleight of hand

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sleight of hand

British Dictionary definitions for sleight of hand

sleight of hand

noun

manual dexterity used in performing conjuring tricks
the performance of such tricks
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Idioms and Phrases with sleight of hand

sleight of hand

Trickery, deviousness, as in By some sleight of hand they managed to overlook all bonuses. This term alludes to the performance of magic tricks with the hands. Its figurative use dates from about 1700.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.