French Conversation · Level 150
30 words
French word
passe-passe
Pronunciation
IPA/paspas/
Meaning
- masculine nountrickery
Example
Arrête ton passe-passe et dis la vérité.
Stop your trickery and tell the truth.
More examples
Ils font des passe-passe pour éviter les impôts.
They pull tricks to avoid taxes.
Core concept
A quick sleight of hand or verbal maneuver that makes an inconvenient truth seem to vanish.
Common phrases
faire des passe-passe
pull tricks
arrête ton passe-passe
stop your tricks
un tour de passe-passe
a sleight-of-hand trick
Similar words
ruse: A stratagem that distracts someone and helps achieve a specific aim.
tromperie: The act or state of deceiving others by distorting facts and hiding the truth.
manipulation: The calculated shaping of others' emotions or behavior to serve personal interests.
Definition in French
Désigne une astuce destinée à tromper ou à cacher la vérité, souvent de façon habile et passagère.
Word origin
The noun passe-passe repeats passe, from passer, and originally referred to quick passing movements in sleight of hand before developing its figurative sense of deception.
Usage tips
- Passe-passe is masculine, so the standard article is un passe-passe despite the word's final -e.