double life
Two separate identities
A double life is a secret existence maintained alongside one's public identity.
The phrase implies concealment and often deception—the respectable accountant with a gambling addiction, the married politician with a hidden lover: He led a double life for years before his family discovered the truth.
The duplicity may be deliberate or a matter of compartmentalized survival.
A secondary persona
- personaAssumed public identity
- dualityTwofold nature
- splitSeparation into parts
- Jekyll and HydeDual-natured person archetype
second self · shadow self · private self · true self · hidden identity · transformation · reinvention · code-switching
Deliberate untruths
- fabricationDeliberately untrue statement
- dishonestyDisposition toward falsehood
- pretenseDeceptive outward show
- facadeDeceptive outward appearance
cover story · alibi · charade · two-faced · betrayal · infidelity · affair · cheating
Kept out of sight
- covertIntentionally concealed
- clandestineConcealed from authorities
- concealedMade invisible deliberately
- secretConcealed information
veiled · undisclosed · compartmentalized · masked · incognito · underground · off-the-books · undetected
Covert information gatherer
- agentOne who acts independently
- undercoverSecretly engaged in espionage
- moleSubterranean insectivore
- sleeper cellConcealed operatives awaiting orders
operative · handler · tradecraft · infiltration · cover · legend · dead drop · safe house
alter ego
A secondary persona
Jekyll and Hyde · second self · shadow self · private self · true self · hidden identity · transformation · reinvention · code-switching · masking
lies
Deliberate untruths
- fabricationDeliberately untrue statement
- dishonestyDisposition toward falsehood
- pretenseDeceptive outward show
facade · cover story · alibi · charade · two-faced · betrayal · infidelity · affair · cheating · compartmentalization
hidden
Kept out of sight
- covertIntentionally concealed
- clandestineConcealed from authorities
- concealedMade invisible deliberately
secret · veiled · undisclosed · compartmentalized · masked · incognito · underground · off-the-books · undetected · camouflaged
spy
Covert information gatherer
- agentOne who acts independently
- undercoverSecretly engaged in espionage
- moleSubterranean insectivore
sleeper cell · operative · handler · tradecraft · infiltration · cover · legend · dead drop · safe house · asset
- "life" phraseslifeblood, nightlife, wildlife, lowlife, highlife
- Dualityduality, dual nature, two sides, yin and yang, yin-yang
- disguisesmask, costume, disguise, fake beard, fake mustache
- hidden identitiesanonymous, anonymity, pseudonym, alias, incognito
- plot twistsplot twist, twist ending, surprise ending, unexpected turn, final reveal
- scandalscandal, infamy, disgrace, coverup, cover-up
double lifeopen book
One easily understood
what you see is what you get · honest living · candor · straightforwardness · plain dealing
life, double, duplicate, doubled, doubling, duplicity, doubles, duplicated, redouble