Dictionary

smoke-filled room en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) A place where powerful people meet to decide a matter in secret, often of a political nature.
   • Near-synonym: backroom (as a meeting place of crooked insiders)
   • In its first decade, prize business was settled in the smoke-filled rooms of London clubs, where it remained resolutely insular. 2009, Robert McCrum, “No Tóibín, no Trevor? Yes, it's time for more Booker controversy”, in The Guardian:
   • If the forums in which we make this case consist of the smoke-filled rooms of Washington, the votes aren't there. 2013, Ted Cruz, “Ted Cruz Punches Back”, in National Review:
2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see smoke, filled, room.

Forms

Synonyms

backroom[insider]]s>