Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An act or procedure intended to achieve an end by deceptive or fraudulent means. synonym: wile.
- noun A mischievous action; a prank.
- noun A stupid, disgraceful, or childish act.
- noun A peculiar trait or characteristic; a mannerism.
- noun A peculiar event with unexpected, often deceptive results.
- noun A deceptive or illusive appearance; an illusion.
- noun A special skill; a knack.
- noun A convention or specialized skill peculiar to a particular field of activity.
- noun A feat of magic or legerdemain.
- noun A difficult, dexterous, or clever act designed to amuse.
- noun All the cards played in a single round, one from each player.
- noun One such round.
- noun A period or turn of duty, as at the helm of a ship.
- noun Slang A prison term.
- noun An act of prostitution.
- noun A prostitute's customer.
- noun A session carried out by a prostitute with a client.
- noun Slang A robbery or theft.
- transitive & intransitive verb To cheat or deceive or to practice trickery or deception.
- adjective Of, relating to, or involving tricks.
- adjective Capable of performing tricks.
- adjective Designed or made for doing a trick or tricks.
- adjective Weak, defective, or liable to fail.
- idiom (do/turn) To bring about the desired result.
- idiom (how's tricks) Used to make a friendly inquiry about a person or that person's affairs.
- idiom (not miss a trick) To be extremely alert.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To deceive by trickery; cozen; cheat.
- To bring, render, or induce by trickery; beguile; inveigle; cajole.
- To use trickery, deception, or imposture.
- To juggle; play.
- To toy; handle idly.
- To dress; trim; deck; prank; specifically, to arrange, dress, or decorate, especially in a fanciful way, as the person or the hair: often followed by out or up.
- noun A crafty or fraudulent device; a deceitful expedient; an artifice; a stratagem.
- noun A feat or an exhibition of skill or dexterity, as in juggling or sleight of hand.
- noun A roguish or mischievous performance; a prank; a practical joke; a hoax.
- noun A foolish, vicious, or disgraceful act: with disparaging or contemptuous force.
- noun A peculiar art; skill; adroitness; knack.
- noun A peculiar trait, manner, habit, or practice; a characteristic; a peculiarity; a mannerism.
- noun A trace; a suggestion; a reminder.
- noun Something pretended or unreal; a semblance; an illusion.
- noun Any small article; a toy; a knickknack; a trifle; a trap; a mere nothing: sometimes applied to a child.
- noun In card-playing, the cards collectively which are played in one round.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The main trick is to have a currency that - unlike dollars, which are lent into existence by a bank - is instead worked into existence through an exchange.
Boing Boing 2009
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Theists are completely anthropocentric, since their main trick is to project themselves onto the cosmos, an insistence that something like a human self is at the core of the universe, no matter that observation tells us quite a different story.
A Useless Critic 2007
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I would point out, for example, that the term trick, is often used in science to describe a clever way to get around a difficulty that is perfectly legitimate.
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Theists are completely anthropocentric, since their main trick is to project themselves onto the cosmos, an insistence that something like a human self is at the core of the universe, no matter that observation tells us quite a different story.
A Useless Critic 2007
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This trick is a little hacky, but it gets the job done on busy Finder sidebars.
Tweak Your Way To A Better Finder | Lifehacker Australia 2009
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The magic behind the trick is assigning a transparent icon to a shortcut and then pinning that shortcut to the taskbar as a spacer in between to sets of icons you want to keep separate.
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We all want the best of both worlds, but the trick is the "without alienating" part.
Keep on Judging Those Books Lou Anders 2008
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It makes you write word after word of thought, as I am doing this instant, the trick is being aware that you are aware of this happening, like a witness to its madness.
Two Views of Mexico 2008
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I think the trick is adding an element of bad intentions or sinisterness.
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So the log files give you the opportunity to be more accurate – but the trick is actually getting the level of accuracy up.
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