\Sub"ter*fuge\, 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.

      Affect not little shifts and subterfuges, to avoid the
      force of an argument.                    --I. Watts.

      By a miserable subterfuge, they hope to render this
      position safe by rendering it nugatory.  --Burke.