cloak-and-dagger

[klohk-uhn-dag-er]

adjective

1. pertaining to, characteristic of, or dealing in espionage or intrigue, especially of a romantic or dramatic kind.

cloak-and-dagger

noun

1. (modifier) characteristic of or concerned with intrigue and espionage

Word History and Origins

Origin of cloak-and-dagger¹

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

The cloak-and-dagger operation might seem excessive, but there are a few billion reasons for the paranoia.

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It’s a pale substitute for the delicious tension inherent to deadly cloak-and-dagger exploits.

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It involved allegations of financial impropriety at the top of the Vatican, cloak-and-dagger activity of the kind that has often characterised the secretive world of the Holy See.

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Jackson’s love of these soaps runs deeper than the cloak-and-dagger plots and mustache-twirling villains.

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But maintaining that electrical undercurrent in person was critical; for all the show’s cloak-and-dagger thrills, their characters’ relationship is the beating pulse of the series.

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