stalking horse

American  

[staw-king hawrs] / ˈstɔ kɪŋ ˌhɔrs /

stalking-horse

noun

1. a horse, or a figure of a horse, behind which a hunter hides in stalking game.

2. anything put forward to mask plans or efforts; pretext.

3. a political candidate used to conceal the candidacy of a more important figure or to draw votes from and cause the defeat of a rival.

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stalking-horse British  

noun

1. a horse or an imitation one used by a hunter to hide behind while stalking his quarry

2. something serving as a means of concealing plans; pretext

3. a candidate put forward by one group to divide the opposition or mask the candidacy of another person for whom the stalking-horse would then withdraw

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Etymology

Origin of stalking horse

First recorded in 1510–20

Example Sentences

“While the writing has been on the wall for some time, the market’s perception of Google has dramatically reversed over the past several months – transforming from an AI loser, bleeding its search dominance, to a stalking horse destined to undercut the most consensus AI winners..”

From MarketWatch

Now the Antichrist may be a stalking horse for a different question: what it means, in some genetically stable sense, to be human.

From The Wall Street Journal

A Labour source said: "I've heard of a stalking horse, but this guy is going to get hoarse from his endless stalking."

From BBC

Journalism is not a speed horse but more of a stalking horse that doesn’t go to the lead, leaving a lot of run left when he hits the homestretch.

From Los Angeles Times

The company then engaged Sheppard Mullin Richter and Solic Capital Advisors, which came up with a “stalking horse bidder” to buy the assets following the Chapter 11 process, Maib wrote.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• also-ran
• long shot
• sleeper
• underdog