Slight is usually an adjective that describes things that are small, flimsy, or insignificant, like a slight drop in the temperature. If a book critic refers to a novel as slight, she could mean either that it’s short or that it’s trivial in its concerns. As a noun, slight means “a snub or insult,” and you can also use this word as a verb when someone does the snubbing or insulting. Check it out:
The slight decline registered Tuesday followed five weeks of steadily rising numbers.Sleight, on the other hand, means being crafty and clever, often by being quick-handed. It’s most commonly used in the phrase “sleight of hand.” A magician uses sleight of hand to pull a quarter from behind your ear. Tada! Here are some more examples:
(Washington Post)Repeatedly throughout his career, Jordan used slights against his greatness as motivation to obliterate all before him. (The Guardian)
I feel slighted by their thoughtlessness and irritated that he doesn’t seem to care. (Slate)
“I was learning to do sleight of hand by amazing magicians, and I demonstrated magic over-the-counter, like I am now again doing,” (Washington Post)Don’t confuse “sleight of hand” with being slight of hand — which is just a strange way to say that your hands are really small! To remember the distinction between these homophones, you can remind yourself that a tricky magician snuck an “e” into sleight.The show contains a slew of card tricks, but the real sleight of hand is the transformation of digital into theatrical space. (Los Angeles Times)