ploy
pronunciation
How to pronounce ploy in British English:
UK [plɔɪ]
How to pronounce ploy in American English:
US [plɔɪ]
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- Noun:
- an opening remark intended to secure an advantage for the speaker
- a maneuver in a game or conversation
Word Origin
- ploy (n.)
- 1722, "anything with which one amuses oneself," Scottish and northern England dialect, possibly a shortened form of employ or deploy. Popularized in the sense "move or gambit made to gain advantage" by British humorist Stephen Potter (1900-1969).
Example
- 1. This time , however , the ploy backfired .
- 2. This ploy permitted comparison between species in which weights have different meanings .
- 3. The absence of any of these four factors should be a red flag that the so-called report could really be a pump and dump marketing ploy .
- 4. In that moment it was clear that my ploy to turn this man into a mole had been undone , but in retrospect a broader point was made and one that is vital in the wikileaks era .
- 5. However , beijing rejected that explanation as a ploy , and responded with a series of measures aimed at strengthening its own claim on the islands .