1 to lend

2 to borrow

3 by means of

4 to take (an opportunity)

1 to use as an excuse

2 on the pretext

3 excuse

4 pretext

1 it goes without saying

2 it is self-evident

1 to lend sb a knife to kill sb

2 to get sb else to do one's dirty work

3 to attack using the strength of another (idiom)

1 to draw support from

2 with the help of

1 to be impervious to reason (idiom)

2 unreasonable

1 inexpressible (idiom)

1 to remove sth that could be used as a pretext (idiom)

1 to lend sb a knife to kill sb

2 to get sb else to do one's dirty work

3 to attack using the strength of another (idiom)

1 to use the past to disparage the present (idiom)