cloak-and-dagger
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 cloak-and-dagger operation might seem excessive, but there are a few billion reasons for the paranoia.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 18, 2025
It involved allegations of financial impropriety at the top of the Vatican, cloak-and-dagger activity of the kind that has often characterised the secretive world of the Holy See.
From BBC • Dec. 16, 2023
“It’s not cloak-and-dagger stuff,” he told the newspaper in 1985.
From New York Times • Feb. 1, 2023
The first tenet is the reason my sister-in-law was being so cloak-and-dagger; she was trying to respect the taboo against spreading bad news.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 24, 2023
We played a cloak-and-dagger game, passing notes in books and such.
From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals
![]()