chicanery

[prettygoodword]

chicanery - n., deception or trickery by quibbling or sophistry.


Also comes in a verb form, chicane, which I'd never heard of. The deception is the essential part of the definition, but the quibbling is a strong connotation of the word. From 1609, from French chicanerie, trickery, from earlier chicaner, to pettifog, quibble, of uncertain origin but possibly Middle Low German schikken, to arrange, bring about.

---L.

Comments

[movingfinger.livejournal.com]

You are I hope also aware of chicane, the noun---a series of bulbs or short curves used as traffic-calming measures? (Originally from racing, now in on a street near you.)