dirty tricks

plural noun

, Informal.

1. Politics. unethical or illegal campaign practices or pranks intended to disrupt or sabotage the campaigns of opposing candidates.
2. any similar practices carried out against rival countries or corporations for espionage or commercial purposes.

Other Words From

• dirt·y-trick·er·y [dur, -tee-, trik, -, uh, -ree], noun
• dirty-tricks adjective
• dirt·y-trick·ster [dur, -tee-, trik, -ster], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of dirty tricks¹

First recorded in 1970–75

Idioms and Phrases

Undercover or clandestine operations and deceitful stratagems in politics and espionage. For example, This campaign has been dominated by the dirty tricks of both sides . The adjective dirty here is used in the sense of “unethical” or “unfair.” The term originally was applied to covert intelligence operations carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency, whose planning directorate was nicknamed “department of dirty tricks.” It later was extended to underhanded activity intended to undermine political opponents and commercial rivals. [1940s]

Example Sentences

He deployed dirty tricks against Tiny Rowland, his rival in buying the business, and was even accused of stealing items from his safety deposit box at the store.

From BBC

It features a row about a fence, allegations of poisoned cutlets, slashed car tyres and other “dirty tricks”.

From BBC

No one knows what dirty tricks Trump has up his sleeve.

From Salon

What I fear is that the Republicans will open a Pandora’s Box of dirty tricks to try to overturn a Democratic win.

From Salon

Cohn teaches him how to use dirty tricks to succeed in business and imparts three rules that will become Trump’s modus operandi: Always be on the attack, deny everything and never admit defeat.

From New York Times