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wag the dog

To divert negative political attention by use of a military operation.

Etymology:

  • From tail wagging the dog. The shortened form with the political sense was popularized by the film Wag the Dog.
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Submitted on July 10, 2018

Translation

Find a translation for the wag the dog phrase in other languages:

mover la cola

mener le chien

scodinzolare il cane

개 죽이기.

abanar o cachorro

clătina câinele

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Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to wag the dog

walk the doguntil the last dog is hungyellow dogred dogyellow dogsea dogwhat dogthat old dog won't huntthere's life in the old dog yetyou can't teach an old dog new tricksyellow dogyellow dogtop dogwalk the dog

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