subterfuge
SUB-ter-fyoojnounMeaning a sly trick used to hide something or to get out of something
Memory hook SUB (under) + FUG (flee): sneak away. Pip tucks a pillow under his blanket so it looks like he is asleep, then sneaks off to play; the pillow is his subterfuge.
Pretending to be asleep was the twins’ favorite subterfuge for skipping chores.
In context Unable to leave the dull party openly, Felix turned to subterfuge: he had a friend call him with a made-up emergency so he could slip out early.
Similar trickery, deception, trick, ploy
Opposite openness, candor, honesty
From Late Latin subterfugium, from subterfugere, “to escape secretly”: subter- (beneath, secretly) + fugere (to flee).