1. subterfuge, blind -- (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")
1.
"Well, let it be three weeks then," said Morcerf "but remember, at the expiration of that time no delay or subterfuge will justify you in"-. - from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, Pere