Simon's Favorite Factoring Trick
Introduction
Simon's Favorite Factoring Trick (abbreviated SFFT) is a special factorization first popularized by AoPS user Simon Rubinstein-Salzedo. This appears to be the thread where Simon's favorite factoring trick was first introduced.
Statement of the factorization
The general statement of SFFT is: 
. More oftenly however SFFT is introduced as 
or 
.
Applications
This factorization frequently shows up on contest problems, especially those heavy on algebraic manipulation. Usually 
and 
are variables and 
are known constants. Also it is typically necessary to add the 
term to both sides to perform the factorization.
