gambit
n.a clever move or something you say at the start of a situation to get an advantage later.
n.a calculated move, remark, or tactic used at the beginning of a situation to gain a strategic advantage. Often implies a degree of risk or the sacrifice of a minor element for a greater eventual gain.
“His opening gambit in the meeting was to offer a small discount.”
“The CEO's mention of a potential merger was a bold gambit designed to test the board's loyalty.”
“In international diplomacy, a small territorial concession is often used as a gambit to draw an opponent into more substantive negotiations regarding long-term peace.”
Commonly used in the context of games like chess or in business and political negotiations.
“Every one of these leagues moved on from this gambit before long, switching to some other strategy, or however they spun the decision to cap the money gusher.”
“You can’t argue with the opening gambit of Aphrodite: “I’ve never been in love and I don’t think it’s real.” Consider me grabbed.”
From Italian gambetto (“act of tripping; gambit”), from Italian gamba (“leg”), from Late Latin gamba.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.