Sleight of hand

Sleight of hand (also known as prestidigitation or legerdemain) is hand methods and finger techniques used by performing artists in many art forms to entertain or manipulate. It is closely associated with close-up magic, card cheating, card flourishing and stealing.

Because of its heavy use and practice by magicians, sleight of hand is often confused as a branch of magic, but is in reality a separate genre of entertainment, as many artists practice sleight of hand without the slightest interest in magic.

Sleight of hand pioneers with worldwide acclaim include Dan and Dave, Ricky Jay, David Blaine, David Copperfield, Yann Frisch, Dai Vernon and Tony Slydini.

Etymology and history

The word sleight, meaning "the use of dexterity or cunning, especially so as to deceive", comes from the Old Norse. The phrase sleight of hand means "quick fingers" or "trickster fingers". Common synonyms from the latin alphabet include prestidigitation and legerdemain.Seneca the Younger, philosopher of the Silver Age of Latin literature, famously compared rhetoric techniques and illusionist techniques.