sleight of hand

noun phrase

1

a

: a cleverly executed trick or deception

b

: a conjuring trick requiring manual dexterity

2

a

: skill and dexterity in conjuring tricks

b

: adroitness in deception

Examples of sleight of hand in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Just be forewarned: Although visitors never have to come face to face with raw sewage, there’s no escaping the stench of the Sewer Museum. Museum of Magic Museum of Magic | PARIS Watch on Travel through a thousand years of sleight of hand at the Museum of Magic. —Shoshi Parks, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 July 2024

The documentary’s sleight of hand is to leave viewers both with a sense of hope and a lack of firm narrative resolution. —Rich Juzwiak, TIME, 25 June 2024

Achieving the governing partnership required some sleight of hand by Ramaphosa. —Keith B. Richburg, Washington Post, 19 June 2024

Stan, already adept at card tricks and sleight of hand, quickly puts this knowledge to work. —Vanessa Armstrong, The Atlantic, 17 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1593, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

sleight of hand

1

: skill especially in juggling or magic tricks

2

: a magic or juggling trick requiring skill with the hands