decoy
a trick
TRANSLATION
decoy = der Köder, die Falle, der Lockvogel --- GOOGLE INDEX decoy: approximately 4,500,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
A mannequin discovered by Palestinians on a Gaza beach may have been used by Israeli forces as a DECOY to draw fire from gunmen…
(Reuters)
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Police also conducted a DECOY operation at 10 businesses this weekend during which two businesses sold alcohol to minors.
(The Fresno Bee, U.S.A.)
(Reuters)
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Police also conducted a DECOY operation at 10 businesses this weekend during which two businesses sold alcohol to minors.
(The Fresno Bee, U.S.A.)
Did you
know?
decoy
noun and verb
- something or someone used to trick or confuse other people or animals into doing something, especially something dangerous
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press 2009)
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WORD ORIGIN
Decoy (1618) most likely stems from the Dutch "kooi" (together with the Dutch definite article "de"), which was used to refer to a pond surrounded by nets, into which wildfowl were lured for capture. Decoy was also a word for a popular 16th century card game and this may have influenced the modern use as well.
A decoy is usually a person, device or event meant as a distraction to conceal what an individual or a group might be looking for. Decoys have been used for centuries, most notably in game hunting, but also in wartime and in the committing or resolving of crimes.
A combat decoy might be a wooden fake tank, designed to be mistaken by bomber plane crews as real, or a device that fools an automatic system such as a guided missile, by simulating some physical properties of a real target.
Law enforcement organisations frequently use decoys to capture crime suspects. For example, an officer posing as a drug buyer is a decoy. Some celebrities also use decoys, either of themselves or perhaps an exact replica of their car, to avoid paparazzi and overly zealous fans.
Derbyshire Police once deployed life-size cardboard cut-outs of a policewoman as decoys in stores across the Peak District to deter shoplifters. Thankfully, Anna Gaskill, who was used as the model for the cut-outs, assured the Derbyshire public they would not be cutting back on real police officers. This was just as well - because one of the cut-outs ended up being stolen.
(sources: Online Etymology Dictionary, Wikipedia, BBC News)
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SYNONYMS
noun
bait, allurement, blind, camouflage, catch, chicane, chicanery, come-on, deception, drawing card, ensnarement, enticement, facade, fake, front, imitation, inducement, lure, nark, plant, pretence, seducement, shill, sitting duck, snare, temptation, trap, trick, trickery
verb
allure, come on, con, deceive, delude, egg one on, ensnare, entice, fascinate, inveigle, lead on, lead up garden path, lure, mislead, mousetrap, rope in, seduce, shill, steer, suck in, tempt, toll, tout, trap, wile
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SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"The big limousine in front of the hotel was a decoy, the celebrity left by the back entrance"
noun and verb
- something or someone used to trick or confuse other people or animals into doing something, especially something dangerous
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press 2009)
---
WORD ORIGIN
Decoy (1618) most likely stems from the Dutch "kooi" (together with the Dutch definite article "de"), which was used to refer to a pond surrounded by nets, into which wildfowl were lured for capture. Decoy was also a word for a popular 16th century card game and this may have influenced the modern use as well.
A decoy is usually a person, device or event meant as a distraction to conceal what an individual or a group might be looking for. Decoys have been used for centuries, most notably in game hunting, but also in wartime and in the committing or resolving of crimes.
A combat decoy might be a wooden fake tank, designed to be mistaken by bomber plane crews as real, or a device that fools an automatic system such as a guided missile, by simulating some physical properties of a real target.
Law enforcement organisations frequently use decoys to capture crime suspects. For example, an officer posing as a drug buyer is a decoy. Some celebrities also use decoys, either of themselves or perhaps an exact replica of their car, to avoid paparazzi and overly zealous fans.
Derbyshire Police once deployed life-size cardboard cut-outs of a policewoman as decoys in stores across the Peak District to deter shoplifters. Thankfully, Anna Gaskill, who was used as the model for the cut-outs, assured the Derbyshire public they would not be cutting back on real police officers. This was just as well - because one of the cut-outs ended up being stolen.
(sources: Online Etymology Dictionary, Wikipedia, BBC News)
---
SYNONYMS
noun
bait, allurement, blind, camouflage, catch, chicane, chicanery, come-on, deception, drawing card, ensnarement, enticement, facade, fake, front, imitation, inducement, lure, nark, plant, pretence, seducement, shill, sitting duck, snare, temptation, trap, trick, trickery
verb
allure, come on, con, deceive, delude, egg one on, ensnare, entice, fascinate, inveigle, lead on, lead up garden path, lure, mislead, mousetrap, rope in, seduce, shill, steer, suck in, tempt, toll, tout, trap, wile
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SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"The big limousine in front of the hotel was a decoy, the celebrity left by the back entrance"
