sleight of hand

• Tour de passe-passe, habileté manuelle rapide et trompeuse, utilisée notamment dans les tours de magie ou pour désigner une manœuvre habile et souvent déloyale, en affaires ou en politique.

A clever, skillful, and often deceptive way of doing something, especially involving quick hand movements in magic tricks or cunning tactics in business or politics.

1. Manual dexterity trickB2formal

   Skillful use of the hands to perform magic tricks or deceive an audience.

   tour de passe-passe manuel

   • The magician amazed the crowd with his sleight of hand.
   • Sleight of hand requires years of practice to master.
   • He used sleight of hand to make the coin disappear.

2. Deception or trickeryC1formal

   A clever or deceptive way of doing something, often to gain an advantage.

   tour de passe-passe

   • The politician used sleight of hand to avoid answering the question.
   • The company's accounting was a sleight of hand to hide losses.
   • His argument was pure sleight of hand, distracting from the real issue.