fifth columnist en · NOUN
Etymology
From fifth column + -ist.
Meanings
-
someone who belongs to a group that secretly undermines another organization
In both cases audiences can listen to the characters and actually hear them simply because both characters are not who they seem to be; they are fifth column-ists, interlopers in the battlefield of sexual politics. If a homosexual character or a real woman gave the speeches that Andrews and Hoffman gave they would be written off as crackpots by the movie-going public.
1983 February 12, Michael Bronski, “Tootsie and the Gender Benders”, in Gay Community News, volume 10, number 29, page 14:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| fifth columnists | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Translations (9)
da femtekolonnemand (a member of a fifth column) · sv femtekolonnare (a member of a fifth column) · sv quisling (a member of a fifth column) · ca quintacolumnista (a member of a fifth column) · fi viideskolonnalainen (a member of a fifth column) · sv kollaboratör (a member of a fifth column) · nb femtekolonnist (a member of a fifth column) · pt quinta-colunista (a member of a fifth column) · mk петтоколона́ш (a member of a fifth column)