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noun
1.
a crafty or underhanded device, maneuver, stratagem, or the like, intended to deceive or cheat; artifice; ruse; wile.
2.
an optical illusion: It must have been some visual trick caused by the flickering candlelight.
3.
a roguish or mischievous act; practical joke; prank: She likes to play tricks on her friends.
4.
a mean, foolish, or childish action.
5.
EXPANDa clever or ingenious device or expedient; adroit technique: the tricks of the trade.
6.
the art or knack of doing something skillfully: You seem to have mastered the trick of making others laugh.
7.
a clever or dexterous feat intended to entertain, amuse, etc.: He taught his dog some amazing tricks.
8.
a feat of magic or legerdemain: card tricks.
9.
a behavioral peculiarity; trait; habit; mannerism.
10.
a period of duty or turn; stint; tour of duty: I relieved the pilot after he had completed his trick at the wheel.
11.
Cards.
a.
the group or set of cards played and won in one round.
b.
a point or scoring unit.
c.
a card that is a potential winner. Compare honor trick.
12.
Informal. a child or young girl: a pretty little trick.
13.
Slang.
a.
a prostitute's customer.
b.
a sexual act between a prostitute and a customer.
14.
COLLAPSEadjective
15.
of, pertaining to, characterized by, or involving tricks: trick shooting.
16.
designed or used for tricks: a trick chair.
17.
(of a joint) inclined to stiffen or weaken suddenly and unexpectedly: a trick shoulder.
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Do the trick
is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
verb (used with object)
18.
to deceive by trickery.
19.
Heraldry. to indicate the tinctures of (a coat of arms) with engraver's tricks.
20.
to cheat or swindle (usually followed by out of): to trick someone out of an inheritance.
21.
to beguile by trickery (usually followed by into).
verb (used without object)
Verb phrase22.
to practice trickery or deception; cheat.
23.
to play tricks; trifle (usually followed by with).
24.
Slang. to engage in sexual acts for hire.
25.
Idiomstrick out, Informal. to embellish or adorn with or as if with ornaments or other attention-getting devices.
26.
do/turn the trick, to achieve the desired effect or result: Another turn of the pliers should do the trick.
27.
turn a trick, Slang. (of a prostitute) to engage in a sexual act with a customer.
Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English trik (noun) < Old North French trique deceit, derivative of trikier to deceive < Vulgar Latin *triccāre, for Latin trīcārī to play tricks
1375–1425; late Middle English trik (noun) < Old North French trique deceit, derivative of trikier to deceive < Vulgar Latin *triccāre, for Latin trīcārī to play tricks
Related forms
trick·er, noun
trick·ing·ly, adverb
out·trick, verb (used with object)
un·tricked, adjective
Synonyms
1. deception. Trick, artifice, ruse, stratagem, wile are terms for crafty or cunning devices that are intended to deceive. Trick, the general term, refers usually to an underhanded act designed to cheat someone, but it sometimes refers merely to a pleasurable deceiving of the senses: to win by a trick. Like trick, but to a greater degree, artifice emphasizes the cleverness, ingenuity, or cunning with which the proceeding is devised: an artifice of diabolical ingenuity. Ruse and stratagem emphasize the purpose for which the trick is designed; ruse is the more general term of the two, and stratagem sometimes implies a more elaborate procedure or a military application: He gained entrance by a ruse. His stratagem gave them command of the hill. Wile emphasizes the disarming effect of the trick upon those who are deceived: His wiles charmed them into trusting him. 18. See cheat.
1. deception. Trick, artifice, ruse, stratagem, wile are terms for crafty or cunning devices that are intended to deceive. Trick, the general term, refers usually to an underhanded act designed to cheat someone, but it sometimes refers merely to a pleasurable deceiving of the senses: to win by a trick. Like trick, but to a greater degree, artifice emphasizes the cleverness, ingenuity, or cunning with which the proceeding is devised: an artifice of diabolical ingenuity. Ruse and stratagem emphasize the purpose for which the trick is designed; ruse is the more general term of the two, and stratagem sometimes implies a more elaborate procedure or a military application: He gained entrance by a ruse. His stratagem gave them command of the hill. Wile emphasizes the disarming effect of the trick upon those who are deceived: His wiles charmed them into trusting him. 18. See cheat.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To do the trick
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
trick
c.1412, "a cheat, a mean ruse," from O.N.Fr. trique "trick, deceit, treachery, cheating," from trikier "to deceive, to cheat," variant of O.Fr. trichier, probably from V.L. *triccare, from L. tricari "be evasive, shuffle," from tricæ "trifles, nonsense, a tangle of difficulties," of unknown origin.
EXPANDMeaning "a roguish prank" is recorded from 1590; sense of "the art of doing something" is first attested 1611. The verb is first attested 1595. An earlier sense of "to dress, adorn" (c.1500) is perhaps a different word entirely. Meaning "prostitute's client" is first attested 1915; earlier it was U.S. slang for "a robbery" (1865). Trickery is first attested 1800; tricky is 1786 (earlier tricksy, 1596); trickster is from 1711. Trick-or-treat is recorded from 1947.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
do the trick definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
do the trick
Also, turn the trick. Bring about a desired result, succeed. For example, One more turn with the wrench should do the trick, or Bill wanted to finish all the errands in one day but he couldn't quite turn the trick. The first expression dates from the early 1800s; the variant, from the first half of the 1900s; should not be confused with turn a trick.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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