To defeat someone by being cleverer or trickier than they are.
From 'out-' (surpass) plus 'wit' (mental sharpness, cleverness). The 'out-' prefix is Germanic; 'wit' comes from Old English meaning to know. Combined, it literally means 'to know better than someone else.'
Outwitting is the hero's superpower in folklore—every clever trickster from Odysseus to Anansi the Spider wins through wit, not strength, which is why stories about outsmarting enemies are told in every culture on Earth.
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