sleight of hand

See more synonyms for sleight of hand on Thesaurus.com

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.

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. 2018

Related Words for sleight of hand

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

Examples from the Web for sleight of hand

Contemporary Examples of sleight of hand

Like any good suspense novelist, Shields is a master of evasion and sleight-of-hand.
Carol Shields’s Tale Of Secondhand Life
Nathaniel Rich
October 26, 2014
Catching Fire perpetuates an ideological vision that, today, is a sleight-of-hand.
‘Hunger Games’ Is a Tea Party Dystopia
Jay Michaelson
December 5, 2013
In the smoke and mirrors of the fashion world, Wang is an expert at sleight-of-hand.
Can Alexander Wang Sell Street Style At Balenciaga?
Robin Givhan
November 30, 2012

Historical Examples of sleight of hand

The laugh which followed this sleight-of-hand was loud, long, and universal.
Vivian Grey
Earl of Beaconsfield, Benjamin Disraeli
It may be, that, as you would suspect, even this might be sleight-of-hand.
Gerald Fitzgerald
Charles James Lever
Being a sleight-of-hand performer, he can do things that you could not see.
Young Wild West at "Forbidden Pass"
An Old Scout
I asked him how he accounted for this wonderful display of sleight-of-hand.
The Chronicles of a Gay Gordon
Jos Maria Gordon
At sleight-of-hand he is far below the level of the average European performer.
Indian Conjuring
L. H. Branson

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.