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

Rather than to inform what, exactly, the tradeoffs are, science is increasingly misused to justify the values someone holds—a mental sleight of hand to avoid a frank evaluation of what one’s own beliefs are and what costs are worth what benefits. —Christopher M. Worsham, TIME, 20 Dec. 2024

The mechanical sleight of hand results in a Ferrari with a 47/53 percent weight distribution from the front to the rear. —IEEE Spectrum, 28 Mar. 2012

They were promised a story, a fiction, a sleight of hand, a shuffling of letters that altered reality. —Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 2 Nov. 2024

There’s a sequence near the end that is both graceful and devastating in equal measure, a bit of directorial sleight of hand that aims right for your heart and hits the bull’s-eye. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 6 Sep. 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