wagged the dog

A form of wag the dog — To divert negative political attention by use of a military operation.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verb
  1. participlepastsimple past and past participle of wag the dog
Cite this entry
APA

wagged the dog. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wagged%20the%20dog

MLA

“wagged the dog.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wagged%20the%20dog. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wagged the dog,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wagged%20the%20dog.

Source: wagged the dog on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.