never let the right hand know what the left hand is doing
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Acting secretly or deceptively, often in one's own interests
Literally: one hand being unaware of the other's actions
Examples
The company's management never let the right hand know what the left hand was doing during the merger negotiations
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed on English Wikiquote “English proverbs” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31). Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “never let the right hand know what the left hand is doing” mean?
Acting secretly or deceptively, often in one's own interests Literally: one hand being unaware of the other's actions
Is “never let the right hand know what the left hand is doing” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.