dirty trick
Britishnoun
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a malicious and contemptible action
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(plural)
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underhand activity and machinations in political or governmental affairs
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( as modifier )
dirty-tricks operation
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One way the dirty trick can easily become a criminal matter is through misconduct by the participants in the course of investigation of a dirty trick.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
They asked contributors to “use every dirty trick you know to make your problems as brutal as possible,” says Elliot Glazer, a mathematician at Epoch AI who led the benchmark study.
From Science Magazine ● Dec. 2, 2024
How did you come up with that dirty trick?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2024
He was caught on camera deliberately disturbing the penalty spot with his boot, a most despicable dirty trick, and then chases down the referee to tell him why his penalty decision was wrong.
From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2022
“That’s a dirty trick to play on a man, any man. Somebody ought to tell him. I’ll tell him.”
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
