ploy

Near-synonyms: ruse, stratagem

The free T-shirt is really a ploy to get you inside to see their sales pitch.

'Bide here,' he says, 'and boil the wine till I return. This is a ploy of my own on which no man follows me.' And there was that in his face, as he spoke, which chilled the wildest, and left them well

Troops drawn up so as to show an extended front, with slight depth, are said to be deployed; when the depth is considerable and the front comparatively small, they are said to be in ployed formation.

The opposition party claimed that approving the bill by a vote late at night was a political ploy.

His ploy almost succeeded.