stratagem
NounUS[strat-uh-juhm]/ˈstrætədʒəm/3 syllables
Open English WordNet
Noun (2)
- a maneuver in a game or conversationSynonyms: ploygambitType of maneuver, manoeuvre
- an elaborate or deceitful scheme contrived to deceive or evade“his testimony was just a contrivance to throw us off the track”Synonyms: contrivancedodgeType of scheme, strategyKinds plant, wangle, pump-and-dump scheme
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expediteverb
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Strat′a·gem noun
Origin: F. stratagème (cf. Sp. estratagema, It. stratagemma), L. strategema, Gr. …, fr. … to be leader of an army, fr. … a general; … an army (probably as being spread out; cf. Stratum) + … to lead. See Agent.
An artifice or trick in war for deceiving the enemy; hence, in general, artifice; deceptive device; secret plot; evil machination.
Fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils.— William Shakespeare
Those oft are stratagems which error seem, Nor is it Homer nods, but we that dream.— Alexander Pope
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54