stalking horse

[ staw-king hawrs ]

See synonyms for stalking horse on Thesaurus.com

noun

a horse, or a figure of a horse, behind which a hunter hides in stalking game.
anything put forward to mask plans or efforts; pretext.

a political candidate used to conceal the candidacy of a more important figure or to draw votes from and cause the defeat of a rival.

Origin of stalking horse

First recorded in 1510–20

Also stalk·ing-horse .

Words Nearby stalking horse

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use stalking horse in a sentence

Second, there isn't any reason to believe that Obama is using Goldberg as a stalking horse against Netanyahu.
The Goldberg Variations | Hussein Ibish | January 17, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
He used a third-party spoiler candidate in the race, Don Sprouse, as an anti-Semitic stalking horse.
Forced Abortions and other South Carolina Dirty Tricks | Ben Jacobs | January 21, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Going into the vote, he was denounced as a stalking horse for the presidential aspirations of Barbour, the Mississippi governor.
Reince Priebus Ousts Michael Steele as RNC Chairman | Samuel P. Jacobs, Shushannah Walshe | January 14, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
Back in 2006, Patrick was seen as a stalking horse for Obama.
The Next Scott Brown? | Samuel P. Jacobs | March 28, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
Butts had been introduced as a stalking-horse, but there was no doubt about Si's admiration of his "handiness."
The Magnetic North | Elizabeth Robins (C. E. Raimond)

It was the stalking horse behind which Offenbach hunted the follies of the day and bagged the absurdities of the hour.
Kentucky in American Letters, v. 1 of 2 | John Wilson Townsend
For the same reason the passions are the main theme of poets and the stalking horse of actors.
The Essays of Arthur Schopenhauer; Religion, A Dialogue, Etc. | Arthur Schopenhauer
"For my dough they've given up trying to find her and are using you for a stalking horse," he added with fiendish accuracy.
Modus Vivendi | Gordon Randall Garrett
Better never profess than make profession a stalking horse to sin, deceit, the devil, and hell.'
Bunyan | James Anthony Froude

British Dictionary definitions for stalking-horse

stalking-horse

noun

a horse or an imitation one used by a hunter to hide behind while stalking his quarry
something serving as a means of concealing plans; pretext

a candidate put forward by one group to divide the opposition or mask the candidacy of another person for whom the stalking-horse would then withdraw

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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