secret squirrel

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English

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Etymology

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From Secret Squirrel, a 1960s secret-agent cartoon character parodying James Bond.

Noun

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secret squirrel (plural secret squirrels)

  1. (informal) Someone who is being secretive.
    • 2008, Terence Strong, President Down, Simon & Schuster:
      I said, ‘Well, you can say what you like about Joe, I've never known him to give anything away — even when he should have done because I was working with him! Secret squirrel syndrome we used to call it in the army.’
    • 2010, R. P. Nathan, The Second Best Man, Cassiopeia Publishing, page 46:
      Christian was working on some Secret Squirrel project with Mike, and Wayne had his headphones in and was coding furiously.
    • 2012, David B. Reid, Hypnosis for Behavioral Health: A Guide to Expanding Your Professional Practice, Springer, page 196:
      Hypnosis, contrary to perceptions perpetuated by the media, is not some highly guarded secret-squirrel procedure that loses its efficacy once the "truth" is exposed.
    • 2014, Oliver North, Bob Hamer, chapter 27, in Counterfeit Lies, Simon & Schuster:
      Meetings in the SCIF were usually limited to members of the FBI's “secret squirrel division,” as the agents referred to those who worked counterintelligence matters.
    • 2014, Erik Seedhouse, Tourists in Space: A Practical Guide, 2nd edition, Springer, page 43:
      Also developing its own breed of suborbital vehicle is Blue Origin, which has maintained its secret-squirrel profile since being founded by Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos.