cloak-and-dagger

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cloak-and-dagger

Where it comes from

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.

adjective

Marked by menacing furtive secrecy, often with a melodramatic tint or espionage involved. Israel wages cloak-and-dagger war on Iran [headline]
Similar: covert, clandestine, undercover, abstruse, behind the scenes, catlike, backroom, backstairs, stealth, cloak-and-dagger, concealed, confidential

Translations

Every language

adj marked by menacing furtive secrecy

Español	de intriga y misterio, de capa y espada
日本語	外套と短剣 gaitō to tanken
Français	de cape et d’épée
Deutsch	Mantel-und-Degen

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MLA

"cloak-and-dagger." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/cloak-and-dagger. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

cloak-and-dagger. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/cloak-and-dagger

Chicago

"cloak-and-dagger." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/cloak-and-dagger.

BibTeX

@misc{cloak_and_dagger_2026,
  title = {cloak-and-dagger},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/cloak-and-dagger},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}