the.com/stratagem
A plan smart enough to pretend it isn't one.
means A cunning scheme or trick designed to outwit an opponent or achieve a goal, especially in a contest or conflict.
from Traces back through French to the Greek 'strategema,' meaning the act of a general — rooted in 'strategos,' the word for military commander (itself a blend of 'stratos,' army, and 'agein,' to lead). So buried in the word is a literal general plotting troop movements; by the time it reached English it had widened from battlefield maneuvers to any clever ploy for getting the upper hand.
- origin
- Greek strategema, the general's trick
- vs strategy
- narrower, sneakier, usually involves deception
- key feature
- works best when the target never notices it
- classic example
- the Trojan horse, still undefeated