dirty tricks

American  

plural noun

Informal.

1. Politics. unethical or illegal campaign practices or pranks intended to disrupt or sabotage the campaigns of opposing candidates.

2. any similar practices carried out against rival countries or corporations for espionage or commercial purposes.

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dirty tricks Idioms  

1. Undercover or clandestine operations and deceitful stratagems in politics and espionage. For example, This campaign has been dominated by the dirty tricks of both sides. The adjective dirty here is used in the sense of “unethical” or “unfair.” The term originally was applied to covert intelligence operations carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency, whose planning directorate was nicknamed “department of dirty tricks.” It later was extended to underhanded activity intended to undermine political opponents and commercial rivals. [1940s]

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Other Word Forms

• dirty-trickery noun
• dirty-tricks adjective
• dirty-trickster noun

Etymology

Origin of dirty tricks

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

Perhaps the masters of the dark arts, dirty tricks or marginal gains, depending on how you view such things, were Cambridge United in the early 1990s.

From BBC

Author Fabcaro and illustrator Didier Conrad have opted for a classic storytelling blend of fights, dirty tricks, local specialities -- and an encounter with Caesar himself.

From Barron's

However, Musk himself has mocked the comparisons, stating on X: “Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired.”

From Salon

Critics, including some historians, said it was a Nazi salute - Mr Musk has dismissed that, saying comparisons with Hitler were "tired" and "dirty tricks."

From BBC

“Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired,” he wrote, before adding a sleeping-face emoji.

From Los Angeles Times