stalking horse

plural stalking horses · alternative stalking-horse

1. datedhobbiesA horse used as cover by a hunter stalking game.
2. idiomaticgovernmentA candidate put forward to serve a hidden, ulterior purpose in a political campaign, such as testing the field for another potential candidate by gauging voter sentiment or covertly helping another candidate by attracting voters away from a third candidate.

   Any open challenge would likely come first as trial balloons from backbench "stalking horse" candidates, who could never win.

   2008 May 23, James Graff, “Lost: Labour's Love for Brown”, in Time, archived from the original on 07 Mar 2016

   2 more examples

   The Ministry had their candidate, a stalking-horse, useful only to receive the purely Ministerial votes. The votes, thus divided, gave no result.

   1842, Honoré de Balzac, chapter 8, in Ellen Marriage, transl., Albert Savarus

   But the other narrative goes after Biden as though the Democrats had actually nominated Bernie Sanders, insisting that his advancing age makes him a decrepit vessel for the radical left, a stalking horse not just for Kamala Harris but also for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and antifa.

   2020 October 20, Ross Douthat, “Trump Is Giving Up”, in New York Times

3. broadlyidiomaticA person, thing, or expedient used in a deceptive manner, to achieve some hidden purpose.

   Environmentalists have used the owl as a stalking horse to save the last 10% of old-growth forest in the Northwest.

   1992 May 25, “One for The Loggers”, in Time, archived from the original on 04 Aug 2014

   3 more examples

   Do you think my daughter […] fit for nothing but to be a stalking horse, to stand before you, while you take aim at my wife?

   1694, William Congreve, The Double-Dealer, act 2, scene 4

   "Let the great of the earth give but half the care to prevent, that they show to punish, offences against themselves, and what is now called justice will no longer be a stalking-horse to enable a few to live at the cost of the rest.

   1833, James Fenimore Cooper, chapter 29, in The Headsman

   The post, culling online chatter from supremacist sites, said hate groups were increasingly worried that law enforcement authorities would use Mr. Obama’s candidacy as a stalking horse to justify a government clampdown.

   2008 August 27, Kirk Johnson, Eric Lichtblau, “Officials See No ‘Credible Threat’ to Obama in Racist Rants”, in New York Times

   Synonyms: pretext, ruse

4. businessthe first bid on a bankrupt company, which sets the low bar for further bidding

   2 more examples

   Eddie Bauer, which has 371 stores in North America, is pursuing a sale to CCMP through what is known as a 363 sale process in bankruptcy court. A judge would need to approve the sale, and other potential bidders could emerge. CCMP, as a so-called stalking horse bidder, is entitled to a $5 million breakup fee if it loses during the court-supervised auction process.

   2009 June 17, Stephanie Rosenbloom, Michael J. de la Merced, “Eddie Bauer Files for Bankruptcy”, in The New York Times, retrieved 06 Apr 2026

   In court records, Sun Capital has stated that the transfer involved debt, or a subordinated note, and not equity, as alleged by the pension agency. Sun Capital’s stalking horse bid is currently valued at $75 million. All bids are due next week. An auction for Friendly’s assets is scheduled for Thursday.

   2016 July 6, Robert Weisman, “Pfizer makes ‘stalking horse’ bankruptcy bid for Bind Therapeutics”, in The Boston Globe, retrieved 06 Apr 2026