"cloak-and-dagger" meaning in English

See cloak-and-dagger in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

Etymology: Calque of French de cape et d’épée (“of the cloak and the sword”); first attested 1840. The French term referred to a genre of drama in which the main characters wore cloaks and had swords. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow used the “cloak and sword” term in 1840, whereas Charles Dickens preferred “cloak and dagger” a year later. Etymology templates: {{cal|en|fr|de cape et d'épée||of the cloak and the sword}} Calque of French de cape et d’épée (“of the cloak and the sword”) Head templates: {{head|en|adjective|head=cloak-and-dagger}} cloak-and-dagger
  1. Marked by menacing furtive secrecy, often with a melodramatic tint or espionage involved. Wikipedia link: Charles Dickens, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Categories (topical): Espionage Synonyms: covert, clandestine, undercover, covert Related terms: cloak-and-sworder Translations (marked by menacing furtive secrecy): salamyhkäinen (Finnish), de cape et d’épée (French), Mantel-und-Degen (German), 外套と短剣 (gaitō to tanken) (alt: がいとうとたんけん) (Japanese), potajemny (Polish), de intriga y misterio (Spanish), de capa y espada (Spanish)
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          "word": "covert"
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          "word": "undercover"
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          "word": "covert"
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          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "marked by menacing furtive secrecy",
          "word": "salamyhkäinen"
        },
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          "sense": "marked by menacing furtive secrecy",
          "word": "de cape et d’épée"
        },
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          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "marked by menacing furtive secrecy",
          "word": "Mantel-und-Degen"
        },
        {
          "alt": "がいとうとたんけん",
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          "roman": "gaitō to tanken",
          "sense": "marked by menacing furtive secrecy",
          "word": "外套と短剣"
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          "sense": "marked by menacing furtive secrecy",
          "word": "potajemny"
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          "sense": "marked by menacing furtive secrecy",
          "word": "de intriga y misterio"
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          "lang": "Spanish",
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      "code": "fi",
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      "sense": "marked by menacing furtive secrecy",
      "word": "salamyhkäinen"
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    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "marked by menacing furtive secrecy",
      "word": "de cape et d’épée"
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      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "marked by menacing furtive secrecy",
      "word": "Mantel-und-Degen"
    },
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      "alt": "がいとうとたんけん",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "gaitō to tanken",
      "sense": "marked by menacing furtive secrecy",
      "word": "外套と短剣"
    },
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      "sense": "marked by menacing furtive secrecy",
      "word": "potajemny"
    },
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      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "marked by menacing furtive secrecy",
      "word": "de intriga y misterio"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "marked by menacing furtive secrecy",
      "word": "de capa y espada"
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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (8a39820 and 4401a4c). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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