n. [ F., from LL. subterfugium, fr. L. subterfugere to flee secretly, to escape; subter under + fugere to flee. See Fugitive. ] 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. [ 1913 Webster ]
Affect not little shifts and subterfuges, to avoid the force of an argument. I. Watts. [ 1913 Webster ]
By a miserable subterfuge, they hope to render this position safe by rendering it nugatory. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]