as in magic
the art or skill of performing tricks or illusions for entertainment Houdini's powers of prestidigitation remain legendary to this very day

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Recent Examples of prestidigitation Caleb weaves prestidigitation into most every snap. Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Nov. 2023 In this era of the prestidigitation that is digitation, the sheer, laundry-bag bulk of the contents of these archives is stunning. Mark Feeney, BostonGlobe.com, 10 May 2023 But the magician must constantly update his tricks as the audience catches on, and new crises reveal the mechanisms behind the prestidigitation. Justin E. H. Smith, Harper’s Magazine , 25 May 2022 DelGaudio jettisoned most of the trappings of magic shows and used his prestidigitation skills in service of a meditation on identity. Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2021 Talk about a feat of prestidigitation: Jordan Michelman recently turned water into a James Beard Award. oregonlive, 3 June 2020 This is not some trick of rhetorical prestidigitation or a leap of logic. Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 16 Oct. 2019 Crucially, monetary policy oriented around individuals should be easier to understand than the customary prestidigitation. The Economist, 26 May 2018 His songs might be usefully interpreted through that past of mingled creativity and prestidigitation. Milwaukee, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 25 Jan. 2018

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“Prestidigitation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prestidigitation. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

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