A Charade

1. (literature, archaic) A genre of riddles where the clues to the answer are descriptions or puns on its syllables, with a final clue to the whole. q
2. (uncommon) A single round of the game charades, an acted form of the earlier riddles. Synonyms: acted charade, (obsolete) dumb charade
3. (obsolete) A play resembling the game charades, particularly due to poor acting.
4. A deception or pretense, originally an absurdly obvious one but now in general use. Synonyms: farce, sham; fake