deep-laid

comparative more deep-laid · superlative most deep-laid

1. usuallysecret and carefully planned.

   What worried him was the wire-cutting; he could not but believe that it was an important part of the deep-laid labour conspiracy.

   1914, Jack London, The Strength of the Strong, The Dream of Debs

   2 more examples

   Captain Cuttle, in the exercise of that surprising talent for deep-laid and unfathomable scheming, with which (as is not unusual in men of transparent simplicity) he sincerely believed himself to be endowed by nature, […]

   1848, Charles Dickens, chapter XVII, in Dombey and Son

   'Then why did you make every preparation—turn the Republics into armed camps—prepare deep-laid plans for the invasion of our Colonies?'

   1900, Winston Churchill, chapter X, in London to Ladysmith via Pretoria

   Synonyms: abstruse, behind the scenes, catlike, backroom, backstairs, stealth, clandestine, cloak-and-dagger