subterfugue

A musical composition intended to distract its listeners into not observing hanky-panky going on somewhere else.

In the musical "Chicago", Billy Flynn recommends using a subterfugue ("How can they hear the truth above the roar?") to trick jurors into erroneously viewing the defendant as being a fragile victim of circumstance, rather than just a simple criminal-minded murderer.

by QuacksO March 2, 2019