trickery


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Related to trickery: subterfuge

trick·er·y

 (trĭk′ə-rē)
n. pl. trick·er·ies
The practice or use of tricks; deception by stratagem.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

trickery

(ˈtrɪkərɪ)
n, pl -eries
the practice or an instance of using tricks: he obtained the money by trickery.
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

trick•er•y

(ˈtrɪk ə ri)

n., pl. -er•ies.
1. the use of tricks or stratagems to deceive; artifice; deception.
2. a trick so used.
[1790–1800]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Trickery

 

(See also PLOY, SWINDLING.)

hocus-pocus See MAGIC.

pull a fast one To trick by doing or saying something clever and unexpected; to gain the upper hand by a sudden show of skill; to swindle or defraud. Perhaps this originally U.S. slang expression first applied to a deft movement, such as in a game of football or some other sport, which caused control of the ball to change hands.

Brick pulled a fast one in the St. Mary’s game. (J. Sayre, Rackety Rax, 1932)

However, this expression and the analogous put one over on or put over a fast one now apply to any remark or action which gives a person unfair advantage.

The thought that a girl capable of thinking up a fast one like that should be madly throwing herself away on Blair Eggleston … was infinitely saddening. (P. G. Wodehouse, Hot Water, 1932)

pull [someone’s] leg To harmlessly mislead a person; to bamboozle or trick in a jocular manner; to tease or kid. This expression may have derived from the “trippers-up,”a former group of English criminals who tripped and subsequently robbed their victims. The expression’s current reference is to a scheme in which the victim is purposely but humorously hoodwinked.

I suspected that he was pulling my leg, but a glance at him convinced me otherwise. (F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 1925)

pull the wool over [someone’s] eyes To deceive or delude, to hoodwink or bamboozle.

He said his only purpose was to “cite substantial evidence that will show just who is trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the American people.” (St Paul Pioneer Press, June, 1949)

Attempts to account for the use of wool in this expression are unconvincing. This popular Americanism dates from the 19th century.

rope in To draw into some scheme or enterprise by deception; to take in, to ensnare or hook. This expression had its origins in the American West when roundups were commonplace and cowboys spent their time roping or lassoing cattle in order to brand them.

He will probably rope the victim into his favorite charity, the Margaret MacMillan Memorial Fund. (Time, February, 1950)

skulduggery See CRIMINALITY.

take for a ride See DEATH.

thimblerig To cleverly manipulate data in order to deceive or confuse; to pull a fast one; to cheat or swindle. Thimblerigging was a swindling game popular in the 19th century at race courses and fairs. The game involved three thimbles, one of which had a pea hidden under it. The victim of this swindle would bet on which thimble was hiding the pea. Reference to the trick appeared in print by the early 1800s. Soon after, the term was used figuratively for any deceitful or underhanded manipulation.

Don’t let us have any juggling and thimblerigging with virtue and vice. (Willliam Makepeace Thackeray, Catherine, 1839)

throw dust in [someone’s] eyes To mislead or deceive, to dupe; to confuse or bewilder, to prevent someone from seeing the reality of a situation; to throw someone off guard, to render someone temporarily unfit to act. The most popular explanation for this expression is that it derives from the Muhammadan practice of casting dust into the air to confound religious enemies. Apparently Muhammad used this common military expedient on a number of occasions. The following quotation from the Koran alludes to the practice.

Neither didst thou, O Mahomet, cast dust into their eyes, but it was God who confounded them.

The figurative use of throw dust in [someone’s] eyes appeared in print as early as the 1600s.

Picturesque Expressions: A Thematic Dictionary, 1st Edition. © 1980 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.trickery - verbal misrepresentation intended to take advantage of you in some waytrickery - verbal misrepresentation intended to take advantage of you in some way
deception, misrepresentation, deceit - a misleading falsehood
2.trickery - the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them)trickery - the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them)
dissimulation, deception, dissembling, deceit - the act of deceiving
dupery, hoax, put-on, humbug, fraud, fraudulence - something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage
jugglery - artful trickery designed to achieve an end; "the senator's tax program was mere jugglery"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

trickery

noun deception, fraud, cheating, con (informal), hoax, pretence, deceit, dishonesty, swindling, guile, double-dealing, skulduggery (informal), chicanery, hanky-panky (informal), hokum (slang, chiefly U.S. & Canad.), monkey business (informal), funny business, jiggery-pokery (informal, chiefly Brit.), imposture They will resort to trickery in order to impress their clients.
honesty, openness, candour, frankness, directness, straightforwardness, artlessness, uprightness
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

trickery

noun
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
خِداع، إحْتِيال، حيلَه
podvádění
snyderi
brögî, sviksemi
podvádzanie
sleparija
hilehilekârlıküç kâğıtçılık

trickery

[ˈtrɪkərɪ] Nengaño m, superchería f (frm)
to obtain sth by trickeryobtener algo fraudulentamente
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

trickery

[ˈtrɪkəri] nruse f
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

trickery

nTricks pl (inf); a piece of trickeryein Trick m; financial trickeryFinanztrickserei f (inf); beware of verbal trickery in the contractpassen Sie auf, dass der Vertragstext nicht irgendwelche Fallen enthält!
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

trickery

[ˈtrɪkərɪ] ninganno
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

trick

(trik) noun
1. something which is done, said etc in order to cheat or deceive someone, and sometimes to frighten them or make them appear stupid. The message was just a trick to get her to leave the room.
2. a clever or skilful action (to amuse etc). The magician performed some clever tricks.
adjective
intended to deceive or give a certain illusion. trick photography.
ˈtrickery noun
the act of deceiving or cheating. She could not stand his trickery.
ˈtrickster noun
a cheater.
ˈtricky adjective
difficult. a tricky problem/job; a tricky person to deal with.
ˈtrickily adverb
ˈtrickiness noun
ˈtrick question noun
a question that is likely to mislead a person.
do the trick
to do or be what is necessary. I need a piece of paper. This old envelope will do the trick!
play a trick / tricks on
to do something which is amusing to oneself because it deceives or frightens (someone else), or makes them appear stupid. He played a trick on her by jumping out from behind a wall as she passed.
a trick of the trade
one of the ways of being successful in a job etc. Remembering the customers' names is one of the tricks of the trade.
trick or treat!
an expression used by children on Halloween to ``threaten'' people that they will do annoying tricks if they do not get sweets or small presents.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
"Here is some foolish trickery!" said the Sorceress, her eyes flashing with anger.
There was a great deal of bargaining, of running up and beating down; and if a horse may speak his mind so far as he understands, I should say there were more lies told and more trickery at that horse fair than a clever man could give an account of.
Lanfrey, a Republican, says it was based on his trickery and deception of the people.
Look at the table too, and satisfy yourselves there is no trickery. I don't want to waste this model, and then be told I'm a quack.'
He was cruel enough to in- flict the severest punishment, artful enough to de- scend to the lowest trickery, and obdurate enough to be insensible to the voice of a reproving conscience.
To satisfy myself against the subtlest trickery, I discharged one at a round lump of lava, and had the satisfaction of seeing the stone pulverised and the beach splashed with lead.
"I mean that it is a piece of shameful trickery. They might as well waylay Mr.
I like to hear of people getting on in it--battling their way bravely and fairly--that is, not slipping through by luck or trickery. It stirs one's old Saxon fighting blood like the tales of "knights who fought 'gainst fearful odds" that thrilled us in our school-boy days.
In trickery, evasion, procrastination, spoliation, botheration, under false pretences of all sorts, there are influences that can never come to good.
He must resort to the stealth and trickery of the wild beast, if he were to succeed.
"Making profit by dishonest means, by trickery," said Levin, conscious that he could not draw a distinct line between honesty and dishonesty.
But such is the wretched trickery of hole-and-corner Buffery!