brain trick

noun — 3 senses

noun

Obsolete A stratagem, a clever trick; a ruse.

But do I not know these are but brain-tricks?1613, John Marston, William Barksted, The Insatiate Countess, III.4:

A delusion; a trick of the brain.

A puzzle designed to exercise the brain.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.