) Informer, malicious accuser, slanderer. Stool pigeon : Informer probably from the practice of fastening a decoy bird to a stool.
From modern Latin steganographia assumed to be from Greek στεγανός, covered, and γράϕειν, to write. Steganography : Art of secret writing cryptography. Spy Wednesday : In Irish use, the Wednesday before Easter said to be in allusion to Judas.
“The whole, as seen with a spyglass, seems ruinous.”-Walter Scott, Diary (1814) The Spy Boy goes out ahead of the Big Chief, searching for other chiefs. Spy boy: Rank of Mardi Gras Indian during carnival in New Orleans a scout who marches at the vanguard of his tribe’s parade. Acronym of Russian smert shpionam, death to spies. SMERSH : Soviet counterintelligence unit existing from 1943 to 1946. Skulduggery : Dishonest, underhanded, unfair, or unscrupulous activity or behavior gross or lewd conduct. From medieval Latin secretarius, secretary, notary, scribe, confidential officer. ) Confidant, one entrusted with private or secret matters, one privy to a secret also, a secret chamber or repository. Scopophobia : Morbid dread of being watched. From Middle French ruse, detour or turn made by hunted animal, possibly as a means of retreat. Roll-up : The capture of an agent that shuts down an operation. Raven : Male agent employed to seduce people for intelligence purposes (see swallow ). Also, Philadelphia ratfuck (or PRF), a crowded and frenetic social event. Usage originates from Richard Nixon campaign strategist Donald Segretti. Ratfucking : Political sabotage, dirty tricks. Patsy : Fall guy possibly from Italian pazzo, fool, lunatic. “Moles perpetually working and casting to undermine him.”- Francis Bacon, History of the Reign of King Henry VII (1622) Mole : Agent of one intelligence organization who works for another. Legend: Elaborate cover for an intelligence officer. Kempeitai : Military police the secret police of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1931 to 1945.
Illness : Russian intelligence slang for someone under arrest. Hospital : Russian intelligence slang for prison. Honeytrap : Romantic or erotic enticement a lure set to trap a mark. From rubber-soled shoes, so called from as early as 1863. Gumshoe : Private or plainclothes detective first known use, 1906. Ghoul : Agent who searches obituaries and graveyards for names to be used as covers.
One etymology suggests it was originally pink, from Pinkerton, a reference to strikebreakers recruited by that detective agency.įrumentarii : Roman secret service staffed by supply sergeants whose original function was the purchase and distribution of frumentum, grain. an unpleasant or contemptible person informer, detective. “To the word espionage a stigma is attached.” - Jeremy Bentham (1825)įink : Pejorative word once of wide application, esp. From Russian for oak tree.Įspionage : Of Germanic origin possibly from Old High German spehan, to look out. Real-time drone surveillance first used by Israelis in 1982 war with Lebanon.ĭry cleaning: Actions taken by agents to determine if they are under surveillance.ĭubok: A drop, delivery a supposedly innocent place where clandestine activity is shielded. Figurative sense of “idler, lazy worker” dates to 1520s. From Old English drān, stingerless male honeybee from Greek thrēnos, dirge. Ĭobbler : Spy who creates false passports and other documents.ĭrone : Unmanned aerial vehicle often used for surveillance. “By clancular poisons he can infect the bodies.”- Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621)Ĭlancy : Intelligence slang for a person who has read Tom Clancy novels and therefore believes he or she understands spycraft.Ĭloak-and-dagger : Characteristic of mystery, intrigue, or espionage. From Latin clanculārius, secret diminutive of clam, in secret, privately. Originates from Sanskrit sunya, empty.Ĭlancular : Secret, private clandestine, underhand. From Arabic çifr, for the arithmetical digit zero related to adjective çifr, for empty, void. Ayyar: Originally, Arabic for vagabond in the Persian tradition, a morally ambiguous character, generous part rogue, part thief, part spy.īirdwatcher : British intelligence slang for a spy.Ĭipher : Disguised form of writing using invented characters or characters employed in other than the usual sense.
0 kommentar(er)
