skulduggery

noun

skul·​dug·​gery ˌskəl-ˈdə-g(ə-)rē 

ˈskəl-ˌdə-

variants or skullduggery

plural skulduggeries or skullduggeries

: underhanded or unscrupulous behavior

also : a devious device or trick

Did you know?

Skulduggery, which can also be spelled "skullduggery," was first documented in the mid-19th century spelled as "scull-duggery." Etymologists aren't sure exactly how the word arrived in English, but they do not believe it has anything to do with skulls. It is possibly derived from the now-very-rare "sculduddery," a term once used to refer to gross or lewd conduct, but unfortunately the origins of that word are also unknown.

Synonyms

• artifice
• chicane
• chicanery
• gamesmanship
• hanky-panky
• jiggery-pokery
• jugglery
• legerdemain
• subterfuge
• trickery
• wile

Examples of skulduggery in a Sentence

tales of espionage and skulduggery

the company's apparently healthy bottom line was merely an illusion, the result of years of accounting skulduggery

Recent Examples on the Web

And so the tale of how the Giants established themselves at the Polo Grounds is told, accurately enough, as a piece of complicated capitalist skulduggery in which the team’s desperate owner bought a controlling interest in the Baltimore Orioles and then dragged its stars north. —Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024

Schiff’s skulduggery was unfortunate but totally rational under the current system. —David Daley, The Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2024

This one went smoothly — no claims of rampant rigging, no significant taint of skulduggery — due in large part to the defeat of deepfakes, democracy’s newest enemy. —Michael Rogers, Twin Cities, 14 Jan. 2024

In a separate incident of apparent skulduggery in 2007, Belichick was fined a league maximum of $500,000. —Bill Pennington, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2024

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

skulduggery

noun

skul·​dug·​gery

variants or skullduggery

ˌskəl-ˈdəg-(ə-)rē 

plural skulduggeries

: sneaky or dishonest behavior : trickery