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  1. stalking horse love

Definitions

Wiktionary

  1. n. dated A horse used as cover by a hunter stalking game
  2. n. politics A candidate put forward instead of any of several potentially successful candidates in order to initiate a leadership debate, gauge feelings, divide opposition etc.

Examples

  • “Like the Lees, Abernethy saw Morris as a stalking horse for the Lees’ rivals in Virginia, Carter Braxton and Benjamin Harrison.”

    Simon & Schuster: Robert Morris

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synonyms (2)

Words with the same meaning

  1. mask
  1. pretense

hypernyms (9)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. equus caballus
  1. horse
  1. campaigner
  1. candidate
  1. nominee
  1. screen
  1. cover
  1. covert
  1. concealment

same context (20)

Words that are found in similar contexts

  1. passionateness
  2. thehighest
  3. pre-approved
  4. unpublicized
  1. highest-ranking
  2. prolusions
  3. litterateur
  4. Laotian
  1. unsanctioned
  2. opera
  3. longlist
  4. low-visibility
  1. schoolwork
  2. deadbeat
  3. anchoring-place
  4. antiquarianism
  1. tragédienne
  2. kestrel
  3. epilogue
  4. five-month

reverse dictionary (4)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. cloak-father
  1. stalking-horse
  1. stale
  1. stall

tags (16)

Free-form, user-generated categorization

  1. a bridge carries us over the hollow land and strains
  2. hallowed
  3. on the final course
  1. from bellows that showed us behindhand the aged spires trailing the stalking horse: that breaks in our protest atop the willow
  2. that eternally bleeds before the swallow and sows us
  3. unbraid
  1. over billows and overflows as we cross the bridge to freedom
  2. walking slow
  3. and haul our eggs across the white snows and leave our hollow nests in this debris
  1. with wild decadence and the furrows snowy
  2. with artless oscars and poet marlowe
  3. to egg on a queen’s castle and express the seeing of the river down below
  1. and show a vision like the best
  2. and so
  3. blake’s grave
  1. we now know.

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Lists

These user-created lists contain the word ‘stalking horse’.

Comments

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  • devans00 MEANING:
    noun:
    1. Something used to mask the true purpose.
    2. A candidate put forward in an election to draw votes from another or to conceal another's potential candidacy.

    ETYMOLOGY:
    After the former practice of bird hunters of hiding behind a horse (or a decoy) until he had reached within close range of prey.

    This week's theme: words about government, politics, and elections.

    http://wordsmith.org/words/stalking_horse.html
    _________________________________________________

    1. Something used to cover one's true purpose; a decoy.

    2. A sham candidate put forward to conceal the candidacy of another or to divide the opposition.

    3. A horse trained to conceal the hunter while stalking. A canvas screen made in the figure of a horse, used for similar concealment.

    http://wordsmith.org/words/stalking-horse.html Nov 12, 2009

  • cryptofascistbbq noun 1 a false pretext concealing someone’s real intentions. 2 a candidate for the leadership of a political party who stands only in order to provoke an election and thus allow a stronger candidate to come forward.

    -Compact Oxford English Dictionary Oct 21, 2009

  • whichbe A stalking horse is a strategy or something used to conceal your intentions. It is often used where someone put themselves forwards as a candidate to divide opponents or to hide the real candidate. May 20, 2008

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‘stalking horse’ has been looked up 728 times, added to 11 lists, commented on 3 times, and is not a valid Scrabble word.