I was wondering if there is a word that carries the same meaning as "distraction" but can be used for a comedy effect too.
As an example, imagine a situation where my parents are away and I've been eating take-aways, but also created a mess in the kitchen just to give the impression that I was cooking. I'm looking for a light-hearted word to describe this action and "distraction" doesn't sound that great to me.
I'm a native Greek speaker and this word exists in Greek. I'm trying to approximate the word "xekarfoma" (ξεκάρφωμα). It's the opposite of the word "karfoma" (κάρφωμα) which in slang means give someone away. So I'm looking for the word to describe the actions one is taking in order not to give oneself away.
Best Answer
Not light-hearted, but I assume you're looking for sleight-of-hand kind of things more than distractions. "Red Herring" sounds like what you need for the scenarios you mentioned.
Or maybe you're just going for general subterfuge or misdirection.
Also, 'hoodwink' has a little bit more lightheartedness.