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Craft; deceitful cunning; artifice; duplicity; wile; deceit; treachery. Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile. John i. 47. To wage by force or guile eternal war. Milton.

, as with a hook, esp. with a disguised or baited hook; hence, to secure by allurement or artifice; to entrap; to catch; as, to hook a dress; to hook a trout. Hook him, my poor dear, . . . at any sacrifice. W. Collins.

To play upon by artifice; to deceive; to mock; to excite and disappoint the hopes of.

), coefficients arbitrarily assumed for convenience of calculation, or to facilitate some artifice of analysis. Their values are subsequently determined. -- Indeterminate equation (Math.), an equation in which the unknown quantities admit of an infinite number of values, or sets of values. A group of equations is inde…

by wiles, stratagem, or deceit; to involve in difficulties or perplexities; to seduce by artifice; to inveigle; to allure; to entangle. The insnaring charms Of love's soft queen. Glover.

To form a plot or scheme; to contrive to accomplish a purpose by secret artifice.

To practice artifice or imposture. Be these juggling fiends no more believed. Shak.

An artificer who cuts, polishes, and engraves precious stones; hence, a dealer in precious stones.

operties. -- Lemnian reddle, a reddle of firm consistence and deep red color; -- used by artificers in coloring.

An artificer whose occupation is to make or mend locks.

The supposed principles of Machiavel, or practice in conformity to them; political artifice, intended to favor arbitrary power.

An evil deed; artifice; enchantment. [Obs.]

An artificer. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

A mechanician; an artisan; an artificer; one who practices any mechanic art; one skilled or employed in shaping and uniting materials, as wood, metal, etc., into any kind of structure, machine, or other object, requiring the use of tools, or instruments. An art quite lost with our mechanics. Sir T. Browne.…

ing death; desperately; as, mortally jealous. Adrian mortally envied poets, painters, and artificers, in works wherein he had a vein to excel. Bacon.

us kinds; diversified; made up of many differing parts; manifold. There is a multifarious artifice in the structure of the meanest animal. Dr. H. More.

An artificer; a workman. [Obs.] "The almighty opificer." Bentley.

To hear more of (anything) than was intended to be heard; to hear by accident or artifice. Shak.

To deceive, or get the better of, by artifice or cunning; to outwit; to cheat. Shak.

A plan; an artifice; a swindle; a trick. [Slang] It was n't a bad plant, that of mine, on Fikey. Dickens.