Like to a bowl upon a subtle ground [bowling ground].
Shak.
Syn. -- Artful; crafty; cunning; shrewd; sly; wily. Subtle is the most
comprehensive of these epithets and implies the finest intellectual
quality. See Shrewd, and Cunning.
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Sub"tle*ness (?), n. The quality or state of being subtle; subtlety.
Sub"tle*ty (?), n.; pl. Subtleties (#). [OE. sotelte, sutilte, OF.
sotillete, L. subtilitas. See Subtle, and cf. Subtility.] 1. The
quality or state of being subtle, or sly; cunning; craftiness;
artfulness.
The fox which lives by subtlety.
Shak.
2. Nice discernment with delicacy of mental action; nicety of
discrimination.