stalking horse | Idiomator

Meaning: (dated,hunting)A horse used ascoverby ahunterstalkinggame.; (idiomatic,politics)Acandidateput forward to serve a hidden,ulteriorpurpose in a political campaign, such as testing the field for anotherpotentialcandidate bygaugingvotersentimentorcovertlyhelping another candidate by attracting voters away from a third candidate.1842,Honoré de Balzac, chapter8, inEllen Marriage, transl.,Albert Savarus:The Ministry had their candidate, astalking-horse, useful only to receive the purely Ministerial votes. The votes, thus divided, gave no result.2008May 23, James Graff, “Lost: Labour's Love for Brown”, inTime‎[1], archived fromthe originalon7 March 2016:Any open challenge would likely come first as trial balloons from backbench "stalking horse" candidates, who could never win.2020October 20, Ross Douthat, “Trump Is Giving Up”, inNew York Times‎[2]:But the other narrative goes after Biden as though the Democrats had actually nominated Bernie Sanders, insisting that his advancing age makes him a decrepit vessel for the radical left, astalking horsenot just for Kamala Harris but also for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and antifa.; (idiomatic,by extension)A person, thing, orexpedientused in adeceptivemanner, to achieve some hidden purpose.Synonyms:pretext,ruse1694,William Congreve,The Double-Dealer,act 2, scene 4:Do you think my daughter[…]fit for nothing but to be astalking horse, to stand before you, while you take aim at my wife?1833,James Fenimore Cooper, chapter 29, inThe Headsman‎[3]:"Let the great of the earth give but half the care to prevent, that they show to punish, offences against themselves, and what is now called justice will no longer be astalking-horseto enable a few to live at the cost of the rest.1992May 25, “One for The Loggers”, inTime‎[4], archived fromthe originalon4 August 2014:Environmentalists have used the owl as astalking horseto save the last 10% of old-growth forest in the Northwest.2008August 27, Kirk Johnson,Eric Lichtblau, “Officials See No ‘Credible Threat’ to Obama in Racist Rants”, inNew York Times‎[5]:The post, culling online chatter from supremacist sites, said hate groups were increasingly worried that law enforcement authorities would use Mr. Obama’s candidacy as astalking horseto justify a government clampdown.

Examples:

EN: He'll send out a stalking horse.
ES: Mandará un señuelo.
EN: He used me as a stalking horse, so he could get close to Wolf without anybody checking him out.
ES: Me usaron de caballo de stalking, para así poder llegar a Wolf sin que nadie lo revisara.
EN: They figure he's a stalking horse here for the judge's interests.
ES: Creen que está cuidando el pueblo por interés del juez.
EN: You think he's a stalking horse to trick us into revealing our position.
ES: ¿Crees que es un señuelo para engañarnos y revelar nuestra posición?
EN: No, no. I will not Be your stalking horse.
ES: No, no. yo no seré tu candidato
ES: No, no, yo no pujaré.
EN: The wrist business on Adams' house loan, Adams being nothing but his fucking stalking horse from the gambit's fucking beginning.
ES: El asunto del préstamo de la casa de Adams donde Adams no es más que un maldito figurón desde el mismo principio del gambito.
EN: - as your stalking horse. - You wanted Kolchak's source.
ES: Con todo respeto, no te contestaré sobre mis métodos de investigación
EN: The common response is really that medical marijuana is a stalking horse for legalizing it.
ES: La respuesta común es que la marihuana medica es una trampa para legalizarla.
EN: You need a stalking horse and I believe we got him.
ES: Necesitas algo que distraiga la atención y creo que lo tenemos.
EN: You permitted me to apply as a sort of stalking horse -- you did not.
ES: Me permitiste presentarme como una especie de distracción... No lo hiciste.
EN: - Give me a taste. - We know you're using this donor suit as a stalking horse for a multimillion-dollar malpractise class-action against Harbor Hospital.
ES: Sabemos que usas esta demanda de donante para facilitar una acción popular multimillonaria por mala práctica contra el Hospital Harbor.
EN: They used me like a stalking horse to get the lawyer they wanted, okay?
ES: Me usaron de pretexto para conseguir al abogado que querían, ¿vale?
EN: This is Paul Franklin, our stalking horse. Carrie?
ES: Este es Paul Franklin, nuestro caballo de Troya.
EN: - Or a stalking horse. - So?
ES: - Necesitan que se presente alguien más.
EN: The stalking horse becomes the horse.
ES: El "alguien más" puede ser el candidato.

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