n.
1.
Contrivance, invention, effort, art.
2.
Cunning, deceit, deception, imposture, fraud, trickery, device, duplicity, guile, subtlety, finesse, stratagem, shift, trick, subterfuge, wile, ruse, doubling, Machiavelism, diplomacy, machination, cheat, shuffle, double-dealing, dodge ( colloq. ), hocus-pocus, crafty device, artful contrivance.