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Sep 30, 2009
This week's theme
Words derived from hands and feet

This week's words
prestidigitation
antipodal
legerdemain
expediency
mortmain
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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

legerdemain

PRONUNCIATION:
(lej-er-duh-MAYN)

MEANING:
noun:
1. Sleight of hand.
2. A display of skill.

ETYMOLOGY:
From French leger de main (light of hand), from leger (light) + de (of) + main (hand). Ultimately the from Indo-European root man- (hand) that's also the source of manage, maintain, maneuver, manufacture, manuscript, and command.

USAGE:
"It's a fantastic spot. But what happens to viewers' trust of Barclays when they realize all commercials are fake, shot on soundstages, and built on camera tricks and fancy editing and legerdemain?"
Simon Houpt; Spotting the Fake; Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada); Aug 14, 2009.

"Christoph Waltz has mastered Quentin Tarantino's linguistic legerdemain in four languages."
David Germain; Waltz Crafts Linguistic Magic for 'Basterds'; Associated Press; Aug 17, 2009.

See more usage examples of legerdemain in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. -George Bernard Shaw, writer, Nobel laureate (1856-1950)

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