cloak-and-dagger
[klohk-uh n-dag-er]
- pertaining to, characteristic of, or dealing in espionage or intrigue, especially of a romantic or dramatic kind.
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Origin of cloak-and-dagger
First recorded in 1835–45
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
clandestinecoverthush-hushintriguingmysteriousquietsecretslysneakystealthysurreptitiousundercoverhugger-muggerExamples from the Web for cloak-and-dagger
Contemporary Examples
But there is something to be learned by the cloak-and-dagger world from Yousef and Ben Yitzhak.
He went on to say that he was the intended target because of all his cloak-and-dagger work inside Iran.
Georgetown Socialite Viola Drath Killed by Assassin, Husband ClaimsSandra McElwaine
November 19, 2011
Plame, the cloak-and-dagger CIA veteran, took a slightly different position.
Historical Examples
Joe said politely: “I heard there was cloak-and-dagger stuff going on.”
Space PlatformMurray Leinster
You risked your life on cloak-and-dagger missions; let the shore-bound fancy dans do the drudgery.
The SyndicC.M. Kornbluth
It has been said of Time, earlier in these pages, the cloak-and-dagger sort he is, that stalks and pounces.
This FreedomA. S. M. Hutchinson
He climbed out, standing alongside the bed in his shorts, wondering at the Colonel's cloak-and-dagger approach.
First on the MoonJeff Sutton
cloak-and-dagger
- (modifier) characteristic of or concerned with intrigue and espionage
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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