subterfuge

Deception used to achieve an end.

A deceptive stratagem or device.

That to which a person resorts for escape or concealment; a shift; an evasion; artifice employed to escape censure or the force of an argument.

Synonyms Shift, etc. (see evasion), excuse, trick, quirk, shuffle, pretense, pretext, mask, blind.

That to which one resorts for escape or concealment; an artifice employed to escape censure or the force of an argument, or to justify opinions or conduct; a shift; an evasion.