palmistry

n. The 947th, and most popular method of obtaining money by false pretenses.

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Cynical Quotations

[Palistry] consists in "reading character" in the wrinkles made by closing the hand. The pretence is not altogether false; character can really be read very accurately in this way, for the wrinkles in every hand submitted plainly spell the word "dupe."

— Ambrose Bierce

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