Legerdemain (noun)Pronunciation
lej-er-duh-MEYN
Definition
Sleight of hand; trickery or deception; any artful trick
Sample Sentence
Sam’s favorite magic tricks to perform for his friends involved marked cards and plenty of legerdemain.
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This 600-year-old word was coined by the French, but is far from the first word to come to mind when you think of a magician.
We usually think of white bunnies coming out of black top hats, or scarves that seem to come endlessly out of someone’s pocket. We call the tricks amazing, and we know there is legerdemain happening, so we watch closely to try and figure out the secret.
In the 2006 movie The Prestige, starring Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman, two magicians use legerdemain to try and outdo the other. Ricky Jay was the real-life magician who taught the actors their tricks for the movie. However, most magicians never reveal their secrets to another. As Christian Bale’s character says in the movie, “The secret impresses no one. The trick you use it for is everything.”
So if you happen to see a magic show, don’t expect to get the secrets. Instead, sit back and enjoy the legerdemain.
Definition and pronunciation provided by Dictionary.com
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