sleight of hand en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
From Middle English slegthe of hande, sleght of hond, equivalent to sleight + of + hand. Compare Old French léger de main (cf. the contemporary French léger de main and the contemporary English legerdemain).
Meanings
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(countable, uncountable) The required manual dexterity used to perform magic tricks and illusions.
Frequently this practitioner would keep a stock of elf-shot from which one would be produced by sleight of hand from the ailing animal's flank as evidence that it had indeed been elf-shot.
1976, Ulster Folklife:A large portion of natural magic and sleight of hand is only the severance of sights and feels that we are accustomed to experience in unison.
1856, Alexander Bryan Johnson, The Physiology of the Senses, page 65:
- (countable, uncountable) A performance of such a skill.
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(broadly, countable, figuratively, uncountable) Any form of clever or skillful trickery or deception.
The Man Who Broke Britain (BBC2) was a heady concoction of fact and fiction. Real politicians assured us everything was going to be just fine while actors, playing city traders, groaned that it was hopeless, hopeless. It was part of the film's sleight of hand that the actors, who were deliberately chosen because they were not well known, looked real too.
2004 December 10, Nancy Banks-Smith, “Review: Financial crimes”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 26 Dec 2024:"Gave his consent! For his son to marry an actress?" "Ah, there was a little sleight of hand there. He only knew Miss Roscastle as Miss Eileen O'Rourke, the last representative of a line of Irish kings. […]"
1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards, →OCLC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| sleights of hand | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| slight of hand | alternative | lexicographic | |
| sleight-of-hand | alternative | lexicographic |
Synonyms
jugglery · illusionism · prestidigitation · fetch · legerdemain · dupery · legerdemain · deception · sleight of hand · trickery · hocus-pocus · ruse · mislead · prestidigitation · imposition · hocus-pocus · subterfuge · palmistry · prestidigitation · dweomercraft · list · rinky-dink · legerdemain · deceit · jugglery · hype · prestigiation · subterfuge · Punic faith · swack · magic · fiddle · sleight of hand · jugglery · conjuration · conjuring
Translations (53)
sv trick (performance) · pt passe-passe (skill) · sv fingerfärdighet (skill) · nb taskenspillerkunst (skill) · es escamoteo (skill) · hu szemfényvesztés (performance) · ru ло́вкость рук (skill) · es prestidigitación (skill) · la praestīgiae (performance) · fr tour de main (performance) · pl kuglarstwo (skill) · de Taschenspielertrick (performance) · sv knep (performance) · hy աճպարարություն (performance) · nb knep (skill) · ca joc de mans (performance) · fi sorminäppäryys (skill) · nl vingervlugheid (skill) · cy troad y llaw (skillful deception) · ca joc de mans (skillful deception) · es juego de manos (performance) · ca joc de vilans (skillful deception) · hu mutatvány (performance) · es escamoteo (performance) · de Fingerfertigkeit (skill) · pl szalbierstwo (skillful deception) · hu bűvészmutatvány (performance) · it prestidigitazione (skill) · ca prestidigitació (skill) · yue 花招 (performance) · fa تردستی (skill) · el ταχυδακτυλουργία (skill) · fi silmänkääntötemppu (skillful deception) · fi silmänkääntötemppu (performance) · tl bilis ng kamay (skill) · fr tour de main (skill) · ms mata gelap (skill) · gl prestidixitación (skill) · fr tour de passe-passe (performance) · nb fingerferdighet (skill) · cy troad y llaw (skill) · pt prestidigitação (skill) · sh opsena (skill) · pl występ kuglarski (performance) · ur ہاتھ میں صَفائی (skill) · el ταχυδακτυλουργία (performance) · fr escamotage (skill) · pt prestidigitação (performance) · pt passe-passe (performance) · pt ilusionismo (skill) · nl goocheltoer (performance) · de Taschenspielertrick (skillful deception) · grc ὀξυχειρία (skill)