STALKING-HORSE • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Stalking-horse

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noun

Stalking-horse n.

A horse, or a figure resembling a horse, behind which a hunter conceals himself from the game he is aiming to kill.

Fig.: Something used to cover up a secret project; a mask; a pretense. "Hypocrisy is the devil's stalking-horse under an affectation of simplicity and religion." "How much more abominable is it to make of him (Christ) and religion a stalking-horse, to get and enjoy the world!"

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Etymology of 'Stalking-horse'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Stalking-horse" Quotes from Famous Books

... enough, to be sure! To Italians at home, for whom the great arenas of political and religious speculation were closed, the temptation to find a subtler meaning than the real one was irresistible. Italians in exile, on the other hand, made Dante the stalking-horse from behind which they could take a long shot at Church and State, ...

— Among My Books • James Russell Lowell

Words linked to "Stalking-horse" : Equus caballus, concealment, covert, feigning, dissembling, horse, screen, cover, pretext