code words
Veiled signal phrases
Code words are words or phrases with hidden meanings known only to certain people.
Spies use code words to communicate secretly; the eagle has landed might signal mission success.
In politics, code words carry implicit messages to particular audiences while maintaining deniability—law and order or family values may signal partisan positions without stating them directly.
A code word can also be a password or signal for action.
- thieves' cantCoded criminal vocabulary
- dog whistleHigh-frequency pet caller
- shibbolethIdentifying phrase or outdated doctrine
- secret handshakeMembers-only coded greeting
- in the knowPossessing privileged information
keywords · cipher · steganography · secret language · double talk · wink wink · nudge nudge · between the lines · circumlocution · cant · euphemism · talking point · innuendo · double entendre · alias · framing · spin · subterfuge
- secret slangargot, cant, secret language, Cockney rhyming slang, prison slang
- child safetychild safety, childproofing, car seats, seat belts, booster seats
- espionagespy, spies, double agent, double agents, spying
- censorshipbanned books, censored, banned, book banning, book bans
- classified inteltop secret, classified, classified documents, state secrets, military secrets
- covert tacticssubterfuge, decoy, feint, diversion, misdirection
code wordsplain speech
Unembellished verbal expression
plain language · straight talk · unvarnished truth · open communication · direct speech
code wordscommon parlance
Ordinary, informal speech patterns
everyday language · public discourse · accessible language · inclusive language · layman's terms