machination

"We wish you a lot of fun sensing about curious coincidences, criminal machinations of animals and the maximum flight speed of ducks," the post read.

Given the present political atmosphere, it’s easy to comprehend why the machinations surrounding this papal conclave were more of a culture-wide watch today than they might have been last autumn, let alone eight years ago.

"It's essentially about the political machinations that go on," Nick Emerson, the film's editor, told the BBC earlier this year.

Ostensibly concerning the life and times of Nick Shay, a waste-management executive, the 827-page novel encompasses mob hits, CIA schemes, the machinations of the art world and much more.

That’s how power obfuscates unseemly machinations: by claiming to be doing the opposite.