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Glite Dictionary
Sparrow Unit

Sparrow Unit

9.9
A secret group that killed government officials for political reasons
  • noun
  • NSFW
translation icon : Unidad Sparrow
  • The Sparrow Unit became infamous for its swift and targeted attacks on government officials.

Examples

  • Reports indicated that a Sparrow Unit was responsible for the assassination in Manila.

  • During the 1980s, the Sparrow Unit was feared across the Philippines.

  • Many members of the Sparrow Unit operated undercover in urban areas during the conflict.

  • The infamous Sparrow Unit operated in the shadows.

  • During the 1980s, the Sparrow Unit was notorious for conducting targeted assassinations against military leaders in the Philippines.

  • Many believe that the Sparrow Unit was involved in several high-profile murders that shook the nation.

  • Members of the Sparrow Unit were known for their ability to blend in with civilian populations, making them difficult to identify.

Synonyms

hit squad
vsSparrow Unit
  • Offensive
6 8.4

A group of people hired to kill someone for political or criminal reasons

is a secret political group in the Philippines in the 1980s targeting individuals

Surface Forms

Sparrow Unit singular
Sparrow Units plural

Morphology

Sparrow + unit

This is a proper-name for a specific historical/political armed group; the literal parts 'sparrow' (a bird) and 'unit' (a group) do not transparently convey 'clandestine hit squad' or targeted assassinations. A B1 learner could guess it is a group or unit named after a bird, but would not predict the violent, culturally specific meaning without prior exposure, so the expression is opaque.

Etymology

Sparrow Unit may come from the small bird sparrow and the word unit for a small team. One popular story says people thought of sparrows as quick and moving in small groups, so the name was used for secret teams that made fast, targeted attacks, which is why the phrase means 'a secret hit squad'.