A clever trick or deceit used to counter another's trick; a deceptive maneuver made in response to deception.
From counter- + sleight (from Old Norse sloegth, meaning cunning or skill). Combines the prefix with the archaic term for skillful deception.
In magic and performance, countersleight is the art of detecting and countering another magician's trick—meta-deception about deception. Medieval military tacticians wrote extensively about countersleight: if an enemy feints left, your countersleight is to anticipate the real attack coming right.
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