cloak-and-dagger

Questions about cloak-and-dagger

What does cloak-and-dagger mean?

cloak-and-dagger means "conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods".

How many syllables are in cloak-and-dagger?

cloak-and-dagger has 5 syllables and divides as clo-a-k-and--dag-ger under the regular spelling rules. It is not in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, so that comes from how the word is written rather than from a recorded pronunciation, and no stress or phonetic transcription is claimed for it.

What is another word for cloak-and-dagger?

Close synonyms include clandestine, hole-and-corner, hugger-mugger, hush-hush, secret. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is cloak-and-dagger a common word?

cloak-and-dagger is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.