Phrase guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
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noun
A coalition among seemingly antagonistic groups, especially if one is religious, for ad hoc or hidden gain. (See examples.)
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
A play on the name of the "Holy Alliance" (a coalition of Russia, Austria, and Prussia formed in 1815), used in 1855 for Western European alliances with the Ottoman Empire against the interests of Russia, Greece, and most of the Balkans. Later uses were more literally just unholy + alliance, such as the use in the 1912 US Progressive Party platform, which was quoted by Theodore Roosevelt in his autobiography: : "To destroy this invisible Government, to dissolve the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day."
Across languages
4 source translations are retained for this English entry.
