shadowy deal
- noun
- /ˈʃædoʊi dɪl/
:
trato turbio
- Investigators uncovered a shadowy deal that led to several arrests.
Examples
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Many politicians are rumored to have made shadowy deals behind closed doors.
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The company was implicated in a shadowy deal with a foreign supplier.
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Rumors spread quickly about the shadowy deal negotiated behind closed doors.
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The company was involved in a shadowy deal with foreign investors.
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Investigators uncovered a shadowy deal that involved illegal activities and led to several arrests.
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Rumors spread quickly about the shadowy deal that was negotiated secretly behind closed doors.
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The company was implicated in a shadowy deal with a foreign supplier that raised legal concerns.
Synonyms
4
5.6
Dishonest actions in business or money matters
1
6.3
Dishonest behavior in business or money matters
How Trustworthy
Surface Forms
Morphology
The adjective 'shadowy' conveys vague/secretive or dubious qualities and 'deal' denotes an agreement, so the combined meaning of a secretive or dubious arrangement is directly inferable from the constituents. This is a normal adjective + noun composition (comparable to 'shady deal' and similar constructions in other languages), so a B1 learner who knows both words would very likely understand the phrase.
Etymology
The phrase shadowy deal comes from the image of a secret meeting in the dark, where people hide in shadows to make a deal away from other people's view. Because the meeting is hidden and not clear, the phrase now means 'an agreement that is not trustworthy, secret, or possibly illegal'.