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Smashwords
LEGERDEMAIN (Noun, English) Skilled, dexterous use of the hands when performing magical tricks. Has also taken on a pejorative meaning of deceit or trickery.
Note: Cited originally in English during the 16th century. From the French phrase 'lΓ©ger de main' (light of hand).
There are some additional answers to this jumble:
rapids
fissure
granite ingrate tearing
erosion
desert rested deters
I was struck by what a forbidding landscape these word suggest:
Erosion and geological tearing have created a fissure through which rapids tumble between granite walls. This feature deters all but the hardiest traveler, who, once he has rested in the parched desert beyond the canyon rim, may well reproach himself for having been an ingrate midst the noise and spray of the torrent below.
Hey BBear! You keep me on my toes. Thanks for sharing the alternates AND your travelogue. π