clever electrickery
- noun
- UK
:
trucos ingeniosos
- They suspected some clever electrickery was behind the seemingly impossible device.
Examples
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The magician amazed everyone with his clever electrickery during the performance.
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The magician's clever electrickery amazed the audience.
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Her repair job was a bit of clever electrickery and some duct tape.
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Have you seen his clever electrickery during the show?
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The magician amazed everyone with his clever electrickery during the performance.
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Her repair job was a bit of clever electrickery and some duct tape.
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They suspected some clever electrickery was behind the seemingly impossible device.
Synonyms
764
2.6
A smart method for doing or remembering something
1
5.8
A clever use of tricks to get what you want from others
1
7.9
The use of clever, quick methods to solve problems on computers
1
6.2
A quality of being clever and secretly using tricks to get what you want
A smart, simple trick that solves a problem quickly
A clever trick or skill that seems like magic
To send fake radio signals that look real to trick enemy electronic systems
Antonyms
How Ingenious
Surface Forms
Morphology
clever + electrickery
The noun 'electrickery' is a playful coinage clearly built from 'electric' (relating to electricity/technical devices) + 'trickery' (skillful or deceptive tricks), so the sense 'ingenious use of technical tricks' can be inferred from the parts. However, because 'electrickery' is non-standard and requires morphological decomposition and some world knowledge about technical ‘tricks’, an average B1 learner would not fully guarantee the precise nuance without exposure, making the expression only partly predictable.
Etymology
Clever electrickery comes from a playful mix of electric and trickery. Imagine someone hiding wires and small gadgets so lights blink or a machine seems to work like magic, and you can see why it means 'skillful technical tricks' or a clever 'deception'.