chicanery

noun

chi·ca·nery shi-ˈkān-rē How to pronounce chicanery (audio)

-ˈkā-nə-,

chi-

plural chicaneries

: deception by artful subterfuge or sophistry : trickery

He wasn't above using chicanery to win votes.

: a piece of sharp practice (as at law) : trick

resorted to political chicaneries

financial chicaneries

Did you know?

Chicanery Has Roots in French

We have hardly any words that do so fully expresse the French clinquant, naiveté … chicaneries. So lamented English writer John Evelyn in a letter to Sir Peter Wyche in 1665. Evelyn and Wyche were members of a group called the Royal Society, which had formed a committee emulating the French Academy for the purpose of "improving the English language." We can surmise that, in Evelyn's estimation, the addition of chicanery to English from French was an improvement. What he apparently didn't realize was that English speakers had adopted the word from the French chicanerie before he wished for it; the term appears in English manuscripts dating from 1609. Similarly, clinquant ("glittering with gold or tinsel") dates from 1591. Naïveté, on the other hand, waited until 1673 to appear.

Example Sentences

He wasn't above using chicanery to win votes. that candidate only won the election through chicanery

Recent Examples on the Web Blunt’s book is not a technical tome but a drama, a human tragedy, loaded with fascinating characters and tales of death and destruction, incompetence and chicanery, malfeasance and greed.

Russ Mitchellstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2022 In one corner, various McGill relations moved up and down the legal stratosphere, juggling corporate law, frantic public defending, and elder-care chicanery.

Darren Franich, EW.com, 12 July 2022 The idea that an elaborate system of chicanery might spur someone to honesty seems the dramatic and theoretical center of The Rehearsal.

John Semley, The New Republic, 28 July 2022 Generally speaking, the average sports fan winked and laughed at the tales of college chicanery.

Bob Ryan, BostonGlobe.com, 22 July 2022 Yet even non-competitive cyclists persist in resorting to all manner of chicanery in order to keep their bikes kickstand-free.

Eben Weiss, Outside Online, 16 Nov. 2021 Less than a decade ago, Rangers was reduced to playing in Scotland’s semiprofessional fourth tier as a punishment for years of financial mismanagement and chicanery.

New York Times, 18 May 2022 It’s also raunchy, disgusting and full of deliberate chicanery.

Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 9 June 2022 Filmmakers who buy into the Pakula legend don’t dread today’s obvious political chicanery but more likely distract from it with paranoid political correctness.

Armond White, National Review, 1 June 2022 See More

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French chicanerie "quibbling on minor points of law brought up to complicate a judicial case," going back to Middle French chiquanerie, from chicaner "to dispute by means of quibbles," earlier "to sue, prosecute" + -erie -ery — more at chicane entry 1

Note: Randle Cotgrave's French-English dictionary (1611) defines chicanerie as "wrangling, pettifogging; litigious, or craftie pleading; the perplexing of a cause with trickes; or the pestering thereof with (subtile, but) impertinent words."

First Known Use

1589, in the meaning defined at sense 1

单词	chicanery
释义	chicanery noun chi·ca·nery shi-ˈkān-rē -ˈkā-nə-, chi- plural chicaneries 1 : deception by artful subterfuge or sophistry : trickery He wasn't above using chicanery to win votes. 2 : a piece of sharp practice (as at law) : trick resorted to political chicaneries financial chicaneries Did you know? Chicanery Has Roots in French We have hardly any words that do so fully expresse the French clinquant, naiveté … chicaneries. So lamented English writer John Evelyn in a letter to Sir Peter Wyche in 1665. Evelyn and Wyche were members of a group called the Royal Society, which had formed a committee emulating the French Academy for the purpose of "improving the English language." We can surmise that, in Evelyn's estimation, the addition of chicanery to English from French was an improvement. What he apparently didn't realize was that English speakers had adopted the word from the French chicanerie before he wished for it; the term appears in English manuscripts dating from 1609. Similarly, clinquant ("glittering with gold or tinsel") dates from 1591. Naïveté, on the other hand, waited until 1673 to appear. Synonyms artifice chicane gamesmanship hanky-panky jiggery-pokery jugglery legerdemain skulduggery skullduggery subterfuge trickery wile See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences He wasn't above using chicanery to win votes. that candidate only won the election through chicanery Recent Examples on the Web Blunt’s book is not a technical tome but a drama, a human tragedy, loaded with fascinating characters and tales of death and destruction, incompetence and chicanery, malfeasance and greed. Russ Mitchellstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2022 In one corner, various McGill relations moved up and down the legal stratosphere, juggling corporate law, frantic public defending, and elder-care chicanery. Darren Franich, EW.com, 12 July 2022 The idea that an elaborate system of chicanery might spur someone to honesty seems the dramatic and theoretical center of The Rehearsal. John Semley, The New Republic, 28 July 2022 Generally speaking, the average sports fan winked and laughed at the tales of college chicanery. Bob Ryan, BostonGlobe.com, 22 July 2022 Yet even non-competitive cyclists persist in resorting to all manner of chicanery in order to keep their bikes kickstand-free. Eben Weiss, Outside Online, 16 Nov. 2021 Less than a decade ago, Rangers was reduced to playing in Scotland’s semiprofessional fourth tier as a punishment for years of financial mismanagement and chicanery. New York Times, 18 May 2022 It’s also raunchy, disgusting and full of deliberate chicanery. Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 9 June 2022 Filmmakers who buy into the Pakula legend don’t dread today’s obvious political chicanery but more likely distract from it with paranoid political correctness. Armond White, National Review, 1 June 2022 See More Word History Etymology borrowed from French chicanerie "quibbling on minor points of law brought up to complicate a judicial case," going back to Middle French chiquanerie, from chicaner "to dispute by means of quibbles," earlier "to sue, prosecute" + -erie -ery — more at chicane entry 1 Note: Randle Cotgrave's French-English dictionary (1611) defines chicanerie as "wrangling, pettifogging; litigious, or craftie pleading; the perplexing of a cause with trickes; or the pestering thereof with (subtile, but) impertinent words." First Known Use 1589, in the meaning defined at sense 1 chicanery noun as in deception the use of clever underhanded actions to achieve an end that candidate only won the election through chicanery Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance deception treachery subterfuge skulduggery trickery gamesmanship deceptiveness skullduggery jugglery deceit legerdemain artfulness secrecy jiggery-pokery cunning chicane cunning duplicity stealth scheming underhandedness artifice hanky-panky deceitfulness plotting dishonesty hypocrisy wile deviousness shadiness slyness shrewdness slipperiness sneakiness crookery insincerity crookedness fakery craftiness quackery slickness shiftiness humbuggery dissimulation guile imposture double-dealing caginess wiliness design oiliness cageyness dupery sharpness foxiness dirty pool dirty tricks guilefulness Antonyms & Near Antonyms sincerity artlessness ingenuousness forthrightness guilelessness candor directness openness candidness plainness plainspokenness See More
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chicanery

noun

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

noun