I. ˈslīt, usu -īd.+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English sleght, sleight, from Old Norse slœgth, from slœgr sly, crafty — more at sly
1.
a. : deceitful craftiness : cunning , trickery
every interest did by right, or might, or sleight , get represented — R.W.Emerson
b.
(1) : mental or manual skill in making or performing : dexterity , deftness
a new sleight in the reading of poetry — R.P.Blackmur
(2) : skill in a particular task : knack
(3) archaic : sleight of hand 1
(4) : mental or physical quickness or agility : nimbleness
brilliant intuitions … and speculative hypotheses derived by sleight of mind from a fairly small number of works of the imagination — R.G.Davis
2.
a. : a sly artifice : stratagem , trick , shift
watching closely to discover by what mental artful sleight he would accomplish the miracle — Archibald Rutledge
a wicked sleight that causes the assailant to put out his own shoulder — Lafcadio Hearn
specifically : sleight of hand 2
b. obsolete : a skillfully executed pattern
II.
obsolete
variant of slight