phony war

noun

1. (in wartime) a period of apparent calm and inactivity, esp the period at the beginning of World War II

2. (in peacetime) a contrived embattled atmosphere; mock war

Example Sentences

None of this phony war stuff in the media is going to permeate Scotland's bubble in any meaningful way.

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Bombshells, blackholes and pledges - this morning’s announcements are part of a fiscal phony war ahead of the release of party manifestos in a fortnight.

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He believes Vietnam was a phony war run by the Kremlin.

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The U.S. military — an institution with a mixed record on racial equality — should close down this phony war by simply telling its own story with a full and open examination of the record.

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Says ex-Facebook chief security officer Alex Stamos: “There will be another breakout consumer app from a Chinese-aligned multinational and the Biden administration will have to assemble a cohesive strategy out of the wreckage of the Trump-TikTok phony war.”

Read more on The Verge