legerdemain

legerdemain [ˌlɛdʒərdəˈmeɪn] n.

1.) Sleight of hand.
2.) A show of skill or deceitful cleverness: "financial legerdemain" (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Etymology: Middle English legerdemayn, from Old French leger de main: leger, light (from Vulgar Latin leviarius, from Latin levis) + de, of + main, hand.

"Like as the fouler on his guilefull pype
Charmes to the birds full many a pleasant lay,
That they the whiles may take lesse heedie keepe,
How he his nets doth for their ruine lay:
So did the villaine to her prate and play,
And many pleasant trickes before her show,
To turne her eyes from his intent away:
For he in slights and jugling feates did flow,
And of legierdemayne the mysteries did know" (The Faerie Queene, Edmund Spenser, 1596).

(De goochelaar, Hieronymus Bosch, ~1510) ______________________________________________________

Hi, all. After a two-week hiatus it's time to announce the winner of this week's "Climbing the Mountain" challenge. It's...shari! She wrote:

Typically, I enjoy most cabbalistic festivities, but this party lacked the oneiric quality that I was longing for. I broodingly sat on the sofa, holding my bottle of lager and gazed about at the abderian nitwits John seemed to always invite to his parties. Taking off the bottle cap, I flipped it over to solve the rebus stamped inside. Most of these garish jezebels wouldn't be able to figure out the first symbol, I muttered to myself.... a bee, representing the letter B. A B and an image of an icicle. Bicycle. I stretched out my legs and took a large gulp of my beer. Bicycle built for two. So many perfumed and sweaty dancers gyrating in front of me... The miasma of eau-de-floozy wafted about me. I got up, festina lente, and in a final beau geste, gave my still cold and unfinished beer to a passing party-goer, then made my way out the front door and into the fresh autumn night air.

Great stuff, there, shari. Not sure about your use of "cabbalistic", but you definitely made up for it with the other words. (You do realize you only need to use 5 of the 7, don't you?) Okay, so for next week let's do beau geste, distaff, reculer pour mieux sauter, penseroso, fecundity, garrulous, and ersatz. Thanks for reading!