In conjuring, mentalism, fraudulent mediumship, etc., having an acceptable reason or solution to an apparent failure. For example, if the mentalist says, “You had a relative, a woman whose name starts with the letter L or J,” and you reply,

“I had an uncle named Joe,” the mentalist might say,

“But he had longish hair and some feminine features.” This is all guesswork, but if the mentalist “hits” using an out like this, the mentalist will say it was a correct guess. Note that “longish” and “feminine features” are undefined and could be anything, leading to agreement on your part.