From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsleight of handsleight of hand /ˌslaɪt əv ˈhænd/ noun [uncountable] 1 APthe use of quick and skilful movements with your hands when doing a magic trick, so that people cannot understand how you did the trick2 TRICK/DECEIVEthe use of skilful tricks and lies in order to deceive someone
Examples from the Corpus
sleight of hand• All the empirical evidence in favour of accuracy order can now be shifted by sleight of hand in support of the notion of natural acquisition.• For us this ad is emotional sleight of hand, not proof of progress.• Miller's financial sleight of hand resulted in the loss of $2 million in tax revenue.• It would not be easy to effect the transition that Labour suggests by Government sleight of hand.• I planned to switch them when we got here - just sleight of hand, you know.• Create impressive graphic designs on your walls; all it takes is courage and a little sleight of hand.• The nagging suspicion of sleight of hand merely adds to her mystique.• The word sleight for most of us probably never occurs outside sleight of hand.• They were continual concrete evidence of the sleight of hand which had conjured me from one world to another.Origin sleight of hand (1400-1500) sleight “skill, trick” ((13-20 centuries)) from Old Norse slgth, from slgr; → SLY 