trick

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. artifice, stratagem, craft; illusion; wile, ruse, subterfuge, fraud, imposture, deception; tour, shift, turn; trait, idiosyncrasy, peculiarity. See unconformity.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [A deceit]

Syn. wile, casuistry, fraud, deception, ruse, cheat, cover, feint, hoax, artifice, decoy, trap, stratagem, intrigue, fabrication, double-dealing, forgery, fake, illusion, invention, subterfuge, distortion, delusion, ambush, snare, blind, evasion, plot, equivocation, concealment, treachery, swindle, imposture, feigning, impersonation, dissimulation, duplicity, pretense, falsehood, falsification, perjury, disguise, conspiracy, machination, circumvention, quibble, trickery, conundrum, beguiling, chicane, chicanery, humbug, simulacrum, maneuver, sham, counterfeit, gyp*, touch*, phoney*, come-on*, fast one*, dodge*, plant*, clip*, sucker*, deal*, con game*, bluff*, shakedown*, sell-out*, con*, funny business*, dirty work*, crooked deal*, front*, fakeroo*, gimmick*, suck-in*; see also lie 1 .

Ant. honesty*, truth, veracity.

2. [A prank]

Syn. jest, sport, practical joke; see joke 1 .

3. [A practical method or expedient]

Syn. skill, facility, know-how*; see ability 2 , method 2 .

4. [A round of cards]

Syn. deal, hand, round, shuffle.

• do or [m1]• turn the trick,

Syn. achieve the deSired result, attain success, accomplish; see succeed 1 .

Syn.- trick is the common word for an action or device in which ingenuity and cunning are used to outwit others and implies deception either for fraudulent purposes or as a prank; ruse applies to that which is contrived as a blind for one's real intentions or for the truth [ her apparent illness was merely a ruse to gain time ] ; a stratagem is a more or less complicated ruse, by means of which one attempts to outwit or entrap an enemy or antagonist [ military stratagems] ; maneuver , while specifically applicable to military tactics, in general use suggests the shrewd manipulation of persons or situations to suit one's purposes [ a political maneuver] ; artifice stresses inventiveness or ingenuity in the contrivance of an expedient, trick, etc. [artifices employed to circumvent the tax laws ] ; wile , often used in the plural, implies the use of allurements or beguilement to ensnare [ used all his wiles and cunning to close the deal ] v.

Syn. dupe, outwit, fool; see cheat , deceive .

See Synonym Study at cheat .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

1. deception artifice, dodge, ruse, *fast one, machination, device, ploy, subterfuge, hoax, fraud, evasion, feint, fake, cheat, con, decoy.

2. prank joke, gag, practical joke, stunt, antic, *monkey business, *funny business, *shenanigan, caper.

3. magic stunt sleight of hand, presdigitation, *fast shuffle, rabbit out of a hat, *smoke and mirrors, legerdemain, hocus-pocus, illusion, *'mind-reading, *mentalism.

4. technique method, skill, secret, art, knack.

II

v.

deceive, fool, cheat, take in, *pull a fast one, hoodwink, hoax, delude, *pull the wool over one's eyes, *fake out, *sucker in, *rope in, decoy, defraud, swindle, *play for a fool.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I noun 1. An indirect, usually cunning means of gaining an end: artifice, deception, device, dodge, feint, gimmick, imposture, jig, maneuver, ploy, ruse, sleight, stratagem, subterfuge, wile. Informal: shenanigan, take-in. See HONEST, MEANS. 2. A mischievous act: antic, caper, frolic, joke, lark, prank1. Informal: shenanigan. Slang: monkeyshine (often used in plural). See GOOD, WORK. 3. The proper method for doing, using, or handling something: feel, knack. Informal: hang. See ABILITY. 4. A clever, dexterous act: feat, stunt. See ABILITY, EXCITE, GOOD. 5. A limited, often assigned period of activity, duty, or opportunity: bout, go, hitch, inning (often used in plural), shift, spell3, stint, stretch, time, tour, turn, watch. See TIME. II verb To cause to accept what is false, especially by trickery or misrepresentation: beguile, betray, bluff, cozen, deceive, delude, double-cross, dupe, fool, hoodwink, humbug, mislead, take in. Informal: bamboozle, have. Slang: four-flush. Idioms: lead astray, play false, pull the wool over someone's eyes, put something over on, take for a ride. See HONEST. III adjective So weak or defective as to be liable to fail: undependable, unreliable. See STRONG.