TRADECRAFT

PRONUNCIATION: (TRAYD-kraft)

MEANING: noun: The techniques and methods of espionage and clandestine operations.

ETYMOLOGY: From trade, from Middle Dutch / Middle Low German trade (path, course) + craft, from Old English craeft (strength, power). Earliest documented use: 1812.

NOTES: The word tradecraft is not a synonym of Etsy. It has nothing to do with trading and nothing to do with needlework or pottery either. OK, in the beginning it did mean skill in a particular craft, but since the 1950s it’s mostly used to talk about spying skills. One example of tradecraft is steganography.
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TRADER AFT - there's a merchant at the rear of the boat

TIRADECRAFT - how to argue loudly and at great length

TRADE CROFT - tomb artifacts for sale by Lara