the clever use of tricks to cheat somebody synonym cunning诡计;奸计 Pretending to faint was merely (an) artifice. 假装昏迷只不过是个诡计。 the artifices of the theatre 剧院的技巧
Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘workmanship’): from Old French, from Latin artificium, based on ars, art- ‘art’ + facere ‘make’.