Tricking

trick  (trk)

n.

1. An act or procedure intended to achieve an end by deceptive or fraudulent means. See Synonyms at wile.

2. A mischievous action; a prank.

3. A stupid, disgraceful, or childish act or performance.

4.

a. A peculiar trait or characteristic; a mannerism: "Mimicry is the trick by which a moth or other defenseless insect comes to look like a wasp" (Marston Bates).

b. A peculiar event with unexpected, often deceptive results: "One of history's cruelest tricks is to take words that sounded good at the time and make them sound pretty stupid" (David Owen).

c. A deceptive or illusive appearance; an illusion: a trick of sunlight.

5.

a. A special skill; a knack: Is there a trick to getting this window to stay up?

b. A convention or specialized skill peculiar to a particular field of activity: learned the tricks of the winemaking trade.

6. A feat of magic or legerdemain.

7. A difficult, dexterous, or clever act designed to amuse.

8. Games

a. All the cards played in a single round, one from each player.

b. One such round.

9.

a. A period or turn of duty, as at the helm of a ship.

b. Slang A prison term.

10. Slang

a. An act of prostitution.

b. A prostitute's customer.

c. A session carried out by a prostitute with a client.

11. Slang A robbery or theft.

tr. & intr.v. tricked, trick·ing, tricks

To cheat or deceive or to practice trickery or deception.

adj.

1. Of, relating to, or involving tricks.

2. Capable of performing tricks: a trick dog.

3. Designed or made for doing a trick or tricks: trick cards; trick dice.

4. Weak, defective, or liable to fail: a trick knee.

Phrasal Verb:

trick out/up Informal

To ornament or adorn, often garishly: was all tricked out in beads and fringe.

Idioms:

do/turn the trick

To bring about the desired result.

how's tricks Informal

Used to make a friendly inquiry about a person or that person's affairs.

not miss a trick

To be extremely alert: The teacher was known for not missing a trick.

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[Middle English trik, from Old North French trique, from trikier, to deceive, probably from Vulgar Latin *triccre, from Latin trcr, to play tricks, from trcae, tricks.]

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tricker n.