cheat

"cheat, deceive, trick, victimize" refer to the use of fraud or artifice [欺骗] to obtain an unfair advantage or gain. "cheat" usually means to be dishonest in order to make a profit for oneself: e.g. "to cheat customers by shortchanging them." "deceive" suggests misleading someone by false words or actions. "trick' means to mislead by a ruse [骗术] or stratagem, often of a crafty or dishonorable kind. "victimize" means to make a victim of; it connotes a particularly contemptible act, e.g. "to victimize a blind person."

shortchange

1. To give (sb) less change than is due in a transaction
2. To treat unfairly or deceitfully; cheat

A stratagem or ploy is a trick or plan to deceive an enemy or gain an advantage. →Troy [特洛伊], sly, plot

[Date: 1400-1500; Language: Italian; Origin: stratagemma, from Latin, from Greek stratagema, from stratagein 'to lead an army', from strategos 'general',

from stratos 'army' + agein 'to lead']

→strategy [Date: 1800-1900; Language: Greek; Origin: strategia 'art of leading an army', from strategos; stratagem]

If a word connotes something, it makes you think of qualities and ideas that are more than its basic meaning. →denote, imply, implicit

Deceit is behavior that is deliberately intended to make people believe something which is not true. =deception

Prior to D-Day, the Allies conducted a large-scale deception campaign designed to mislead the Germans about the intended invasion target. By late August 1944, all of northern France had been liberated, and by the following spring the Allies had defeated the Germans. The Normandy landings have been called the beginning of the end of war in Europe. DDD :-)

兵者，诡道①也。故能而示②之不能，用而示之不用，近而示之远，远而示之近。利而诱之，乱而取之，实而备之，强而避之，怒而挠之。卑而骄之，佚③而劳之，亲而离之，攻其无备，出其不意。此兵家之胜，不可先传④也。(《计篇第一》)

用兵打仗是一种诡诈之道。所以，能攻而装出不能攻，要打却装作不要打，计划在近处行动而装作要在远处行动，欲在远处攻打却又装作要在近处进攻。对于贪利的敌人，就用小利来引诱他；对于混乱之敌，就乘机攻取他；对于充实之敌，要加倍防范他；对于强大之敌，就设法躲避他；对于易怒之敌，用挑逗的办法去激怒他；对于自卑谨慎之敌，就设法使他骄傲自大；对于休整之敌，就要使他疲惫不堪；对于内部团结之敌，就要设法离间他。要在敌人没有防备的情况下实施攻击，在敌人意想不到之时采取行动。这些都是兵家克敌制胜的奥妙所在，是不可事先加以规定的。

“看人下菜碟”、“看人下菜”，或“见人下菜碟(儿)”等出自《 红楼梦 》。