English idiom

sleight of hand

Register · Neutral CEFR C1

Post

Figurative meaning

clever and subtle trickery used to mislead people

Word picture

A fast, skillful hand movement is pictured concealing what is actually happening from view.

Example

“The company used accounting sleight of hand to make its losses look smaller.”

Dictionary details

Component words

sleight hand

Tags

Expressions connected by reviewed component words or topic tags.

force someone's hand

To pressure someone into acting, often sooner than they had planned.

hand in glove

working together in an extremely close and cooperative way

win hands down

to win easily, without effort

cap in hand

in a humble or pleading manner when asking someone for help or a favor

put two and two together

to infer a conclusion by connecting the available clues

make waves

to cause disruption or draw attention by challenging established expectations

Source methodology

Meanings, register, CEFR, and examples come from the reviewed dictionary record. Expression notes may describe a reviewed present-day word picture or a background note; they are not presented as verified etymology.

External links

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