Word: legerdemainic
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...governments deal in euphemisms, of course, since the purpose of a euphemism is to make anything unpleasant seem less unpleasant. And since killing is the most unpleasant of government functions, the result is linguistic legerdemain...
...greatest feats of artistic legerdemain was to convince the world that he really was the crabbed and crotchety misanthrope portrayed in that greatest American autobiography, The Education of Henry Adams. The extended flow of his letters-these three volumes take him from age 20 to 54-portray someone quite different. Even in middle age, he was a man of considerable enthusiasm ("Man is still going fast upward," he wrote to a friend) and considerable charm ("Gum-drops are better than chocolate in hot weather," he advised a two-year-old neighbor...
...hottest Hollywood directors know how to make thrillers, comedies, love stories, even the arrant musical. But few have chosen to dramatize what they have learned best: the secrets of power. These are the film industry's true guilty pleasures-the devilish legerdemain of dealmaking, the bending of a hundred egos to a common purpose, the fine art of humiliating an old friend-and every movie Machiavelli has his own closetful...
...community service. Meanwhile, Selective Service officials said compliance was rising quickly. Before the indictments began, they estimated that more than 700,000 men--seven percent of all required--had failed to comply with the law. With the wave of publicity from the summer crackdown, and with some statistical legerdemain, the noncompliance figure is now officially under 500,000--maybe less than 5 percent...
Perry could still win her case, of course, for there's no substitute for having the facts and in-court legerdemain on one's side. But more likely, her case will prove once again that even an extraordinary lawyer needs a flawless game plan--and the wind at his back--to add new contours...