spookdom en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
From spook + -dom.
Meanings
-
(slang, uncountable) The realm or sphere of spies.
In a 1967 article about Richard Helms, then the new director of Central Intelligence, Time made the linguistic jump to spookdom: “When he surfaced in 1952, it was as deputy to the chief of the plans division, the so-called ‘dirty tricks’ department, which handles espionage and other undercover operations.”
2008 February 3, William Safire, “Dirty Tricks”, in New York Times: