| Definitions | | cloak-and-dagger |
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adjective - Marked by furtive secrecy, often with a melodramatic tint or espionage involved.
Etymology: First attested w:1840, 1840, from de cape et d'épée, "the cloak and the fencing sword", the French term referred to a genre of drama in which the main characters wore cloaks and had swords. w:Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow used the "cloak and sword" term in 1840, whereas w:Charles Dickens, Charles Dickens preferred "cloak and dagger" a year later.
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