loophole

1. (historical) A slit in a castle wall; today, any similar window for shooting a ranged weapon or letting in light.Examples: "[…] and having a fair loophole, as it were, from a broken hole in the tree, he took a sure aim, without being seen, waiting till they were within about thirty yards of the tree, so that he could not miss."; "There was a loophole in this wall, to let the light in, just at the height of a person's head, who was sitting near the chimney."; "The sun had shifted round, and the myriad windows of the Ministry of Truth, with the light no longer shining on them, looked grim as the loopholes of a fortress."Synonyms: arrowslit, arrow slit, arrow-hole, balistrariahistorical

2. (figurative) A method of escape, especially an ambiguity or exception in a rule or law that can be exploited in order to avoid its effect.Examples: "Coupling the poor girl's intelligence with my previous knowledge, and the result of our good friend's inquiries on the spot, I left him no loophole of escape, and laid bare the whole villany which by these lights became plain as day."; "You have a contract that says you will work until Island Towers is finalized, which I interpret as completion of construction, or I can stop you working elsewhere. And there's no loopholes, because you drafted it and you're the best."; "They would rather ask more from the vast majority of Americans and put our recovery at risk than close even a single tax loophole that benefits the wealthy."figuratively