SUBTERFUGE

subterfuge, blind

(noun) something intended to misrepresent the true nature of an activity; “he wasn’t sick--it was just a subterfuge”; “the holding company was just a blind”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

subterfuge (countable and uncountable, plural subterfuges)

(countable) An indirect or deceptive device or stratagem; a blind. Refers especially to war and diplomatics.

(uncountable) Deception; misrepresentation of the true nature of an activity.

Source: Wiktionary

Sub"ter*fuge, n. Etym: [F., from LL. subterfugium, fr. L. subterfugere to flee secretly, to escape; subter under + fugere to flee. See Fugitive.]

Definition: That to which one resorts for escape or concealment; an artifice employed to escape censure or the force of an argument, or to justify opinions or conduct; a shift; an evasion. Affect not little shifts and subterfuges, to avoid the force of an argument. I. Watts. By a miserable subterfuge, they hope to render this position safe by rendering it nugatory. Burke.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition