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Glite Dictionary
to speak in code

to speak in code

2 7.7
To talk using secret words and signs that only a few people understand
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : hablar en clave
  • When discussing sensitive topics, it's better to speak in code to ensure privacy.

Examples

  • To keep their plans hidden from outsiders, the team decided to speak in code during the meeting.

  • "Plainly, each of these expressions meant something secret, and Frank could think of only two sorts of people who would speak in code: spies and criminals."

    Fiction book (2000)

  • We should probably speak in code.

    Flock of Dudes (2015)

  • Why are you speaking in code?

    Like Mike (2002)

  • They could speak in code.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • What they're talking about, it's like they're speaking in code.

    The Astronaut's Wife (1999)

  • Emory rarely talked about racism, or he spoke in code, as if it were an embarrassing family secret.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • I guess my suggestion goes along with 'office politics,' but specifically I would have found it so helpful if someone had sat me down and told me that people often speak in code rather than plainly saying what they mean.

    Blog text (15)

  • They're speaking in code, a language you could easily repeat by rote but can't quite crawl inside of.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • And let's not speak in code—we are talking about Alberto Contador.

    Blog text (11)

Antonyms

to speak openly
7 3.4

Talk honestly without hiding facts or feelings

How Secretive

to encode
  • Specialized
52 4.9
to speak in code
2 7.7
to allude
88 6.5
to hint
136 2.0

Surface Forms

speak in code infinitive
speaking in code present participle
speaks in code third person singular
spoke in code past
spoken in code past participle

Morphology

speak + in + code

The meaning is directly compositionally derived from 'speak' (use words) + 'in' (using/as a mode) + 'code' (a system of symbols or signals used to conceal or specialize meaning). A B1 learner who knows these constituents can readily infer it means to communicate using coded language or signals; this construction is cross-linguistically common and therefore transparent.

Etymology

Speak in code comes from spies and secret groups who used a code, a set of words or signals that hide the true meaning so that when they speak others could not understand. That's why it now means 'to communicate so only certain people understand', often to keep something 'secret'.