phony war
Britishnoun
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(in wartime) a period of apparent calm and inactivity, esp the period at the beginning of World War II
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(in peacetime) a contrived embattled atmosphere; mock war
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.
The Ashes phony war began in the summer when David Warner described Root's front pad as a "surfboard", suggesting he is an lbw candidate.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2025
See also Robert de Niro as the spin doctor who hires a movie producer to stage a phony war in 1997’s Wag the Dog – just to distract the nation from the president’s philandering.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 21, 2019
It's merely the first game in a protracted phony war, the group stage of the competition, which lasts two weeks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2010
"Arguably we are still in the phony war phase now," the investor said.
From Reuters ● Jan. 13, 2010
But this phony war will give way on Sunday, Sept.
From Time Magazine Archive
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
