Make Your Point > Archived Issues > RUSE

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pronounce RUSE: Say it "ROOZE." To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: If someone asks you to define the word ruse, you would probably say, "Okay, sure: a ruse is a cunning trick. It's a sneaky little ploy. It's a clever stratagem. As in, 'Oh my god, I can't believe this whole thing was all just a ruse.'"  But could you also say where the word ruse came from? And, what kind of trick or ploy is it? Etymologically speaking, could you say whether it's more of a trap that you use to capture someone else, or is it more of a dodge that you use to evade capture yourself? In other words, is it closer to a feint, or a slip? (Could you define that one: feint?) Does a ruse suggest being on the offense or the defense? It's questions like these that can help us shine a brighter light on words. And the answers can nudge us toward better choices when we speak and write. We gain the power of subtlety, and precision. Don't you love that? Even if you "know" a word, there's often so much more to know. definition: We took the word "ruse" from French, but you can trace it all the way back to a Latin word meaning "to reject or oppose." Imagine you're hunting a deer. She wants to throw you off her track, naturally. In French, and originally in English also, a ruse is a sneaky turn that this creature makes to throw you off its track. In other words, the first meaning of "ruse" was "a clever detour to avoid being captured by a hunter." From there, the meaning loosened up. Now, a ruse is any sneaky little trick, especially the kind that helps you avoid getting caught. grammatical bits: Part of speech: Noun, the countable kind: "It was just a ruse to gain their trust," "We found out later about the ruse." Other forms:  The only common one is the plural, "ruses." There's a rare adjective, "rusé," pronounced "roo ZAY." It means "using ruses a lot: sly, sneaky, tricky." how to use it: Because a ruse is always sneaky and often criminal, we tend to spit out the word "ruse" with an angry sneer.  Talk about someone's ruse. Or, talk about someone using or employing a ruse, falling for a ruse, seeing through a ruse, exposing a ruse, etc. Often we talk about a ruse to accomplish something: "it was a ruse to increase profits," "it was a ruse to steal people's identities," "it was a ruse to sell unnecessary tests." examples: "He found his calling as a singer, but his parents objected... At university in California, Sumney studied creative writing with a focus on poetry, a ruse to throw his parents off the music scent."    — Sheldon Pearce, The Guardian, 29 February 2020 "Crudely edited, deliberately misleading videos and images [known as cheap fakes] are still effective, and they're still allowed on most platforms. What's a cheap fake? Something like this video of campaign workers doing a corny dance in support of presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg. In reality, they aren't campaign workers at all — they're audience members at an improv show filming a bit for a comedian, who shared it on a Twitter profile he had edited to make it appear as if he worked for Bloomberg. The ruse was exposed relatively quickly, but plenty of people still fell for it."    — Casey Newton, The Verge, 8 January 2020 "'Tell me what those English witches do, Grandmamma,' I said. 'Well' she said, sucking away at her stinking cigar, 'their favourite ruse is to mix up a powder that will turn a child into some creature or other that all grown-ups hate.' 'What sort of a creature, Grandmamma?' 'Often it's a slug,' she said."    — Roald Dahl, The Witches, 1983 has this page helped you understand "ruse"? Awesome, I'm glad it helped! Thanks for letting me know! If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. study it: Explain the meaning of "ruse" without saying "evasive maneuver" or "feint." try it out: In this article from Salon, Jonathan Lane discusses a ruse we're all familiar with: "Are there consequences to deceiving children about Santa? Do children lose trust in their parents when they realize that it was all an elaborate ruse? ... Considering that children may understand that it's a game before their parents realize that they do — and children continue playing along — and considering that the whole fantasy plays out in the context of fun and togetherness, there's probably more to gain by playing along than there is to lose." Do you agree with Lane's conclusion here, or not? Why? What are your thoughts on the whole Santa ruse? Do you think it's appropriate to call it a "ruse"? Why or why not? If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) before you review, play: Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out. Our game this month is "Faces & Feelings." If the word you're studying were a facial expression, what would it look like? Maybe one of the seven universal facial expressions, the ones identified by the psychologist Paul Ekman. In each issue, take a handful of words and assign each to an emotion it inspires. I'll list my answers at the bottom of each issue. Yours might be different from mine, which is okay--words, and emotions, are complex and personal! The goal here is just to interact with our words, to tie them more securely into memory by connecting them to emotion and to the face. Try this set today. Match each face on the left to a term on the right:     ebullient elephantiasis ennui epiphanic epithet eschew ersatz   review this word: 1. A near opposite of RUSÉ is A. BEIGE. B. POLITE. C. UPFRONT. 2. The move was _____ as a ruse to _____. A. condemned .. avoid legal responsibilities B. celebrated .. help kids who might eat alone C. interpreted .. build up interest and anticipation Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. A Suggested answers to game questions: joy: ebullient surprise: epiphanic contempt: ersatz sadness: ennui anger: epithet disgust: eschew fear: elephantiasis a final word: I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.