Clever or skillful acts intended to deceive or amaze; cunning or deceptive schemes; to deceive or fool someone through cleverness.
From Old French 'trique' meaning a cudgel or stick, possibly from the idea of a tool used to deceive. The sense evolved from using implements for deception to any clever deception or skill, including entertaining illusions.
The evolution of 'tricks' from 'cudgel' to 'clever deception' suggests that our ancestors saw deception as a kind of mental weapon - a tool that could be just as effective as physical force. This explains why we still speak of having 'tricks up our sleeve' as if deception were a concealed weapon.
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