a stalking horse

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a stalking horse

1. a politician who tests the strength of a party's support for its leader by competing for the job of leading the party although they do not really intend to be elected He was a stalking horse, intended to undermine what was regarded at the time as a weak leadership.

2. something that is used to hide someone's real purpose It's feared that the talks are just a stalking horse for a much wider deal between the two parties.

See also: horse, stalk

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He added: "There is no person in the Cabinet ready to do the damage, it needs a stalking horse. PM warned of stalking horse rival by The Mirror (London, England) A stalking horse is the preferred bidder in a bankruptcy-court-supervised auction; the term is derived from fowlers who bid behind their horses when hunting birds, and it implies that other participants in the auction may not wish to be identified. Sale date set for machine-tool portions of DeVlieg Bullard II by Metalworking Insiders' Report A stalking horse bid involves sale deals made before a bankruptcy auction, setting the minimum bid price that can be asked for a bankrupt company's assets. Smithfield Foods Inc by Food & Drink Weekly			a smart alec a smart bomb a smart cookie a smart-arse a smarty pants a smoking gun a snake in the grass a snow job a snowball effect a snuff movie a sob story a social climber a softly, softly approach a soldier of fortune a son of a bitch a son of a gun a song and dance a sore point a space cadet a spark plug a spin doctor a sporting chance a square meal a square peg a stag night a stalking horse a standard-bearer a step in the right direction a stick to beat with a stick-in-the-mud a sticking point a stiff upper lip a sting in the tail A stitch in time a stone's throw a stool pigeon a storm in a teacup a straight arrow a straight shooter a straw in the wind a stroke of luck a strong stomach a stud-muffin a stuffed shirt a stumbling block a sweet deal a sweet tooth a sword of Damocles hangs over head a tall story a tangled web a taste of own medicine			a sore spot a sorry state of affairs A Sort of Homecoming A South Carolina Members Association of Home Schoolers a space cadet A Spanner in the Works A Spanner in the Works A Spanner in the Works A Spanner in the Works A Spanner in the Works a spark plug A speaking acquaintance A Specific Kind of Virtual Terminal a spin doctor A Spooky Electric Kaleidoscope a sporting chance A SPT CMD a square meal a square peg a st throw a st throw a st throw a stab at someone a stab at something A Stab In The Dark A Stab In The Dark A Stab In The Dark a stag night a stag party A stage a stalking horse A stand of arms a standard-bearer A star A Star Is Born A State of Trance A Statement of Basic Accounting Theory A Statement of Basic Auditing Concepts A Static Lullaby A station A Statistical Computing Procedure a steady hand on the tiller A Step Beyond A Step In The Right Direction A stick of eels a stick to beat with a stick-in-the-mud a sticking point a stiff upper lip a sting in the tail A Stitch In Time A Stitch in Time Saves Nine a stone's throw a stone's throw away a stool pigeon

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