black-bag

English

Alternative forms

• black bag, blackbag

Etymology

From the term black bag meaning a case containing burglary tools.

Adjective

black-bag (not comparable)

1. Involving sophisticated clandestine methods for gaining unauthorized entry and obtaining information.
   • 2011, Jerry Ahern, Decision Time: The Defender, →ISBN:

     Holden's SEAL training had covered clandestine penetrations, but never black-bag jobs

   • 2012, Paul Lieberman, Gangster Squad: Covert Cops, the Mob, and the Battle for Los Angeles, →ISBN:

     Con Keeler was past his fortieth birthday and a veteran of more black-bag jobs than he could count.

   • 2015, James Wynbrandt, The Excruciating History of Dentistry, →ISBN:

     In an interesting coda that perhaps presaged the black-bag jobs of the Watergate era, an unknown person or persons broke into Dr. Parr's office on New York's Forty-second street in 1926, gained access to the safe, and stole President Grant's, Mrs. Grant's, and President Chester Arthur's dentures.

   Watergate turned out to be a black-bag operation by former CIA employees.

Verb

black-bag (third-person singular simple present black-bags, present participle black-bagging, simple past and past participle black-bagged)

1. To break in to a place without authorization as part of a clandestine operation.
   • 2004, Loren D. Estleman, Poison Blonde: An Amos Walker Novel, →ISBN:

     He'd been tapped, bugged, and black-bagged under Nixon and Clinton, and under the present conditions all the cops needed to listen in was a thumbs-up from an Eagle Scout or better.

   • 2011, Adrian Phoenix, J. F. Lewis, Jeri Smith-Ready, Urban Fantasy Collection, →ISBN:

     Nothing jimmied. Nothing damaged. She'd been black-bagged by a pro.

   • 2011, Harlan Coben (Ed.), The Best American Mystery Stories 2011:

     Before dawn, NEST black-bagged Ivan's building — not the Nuclear Emergency Search Teams, their shadows whose S stands for Strike. They pulled all hazmat out of the medical imaging office, substituted fake material, and broke the machines so nobody will wonder when they don't work.

2. To kidnap in order to make someone disappear (as opposed to kidnapping for ransom).
   • 2016, S.M. Reine, Once Darkness Falls:

     When witches and demons caused enough trouble, the Union had a tendency to black-bag the baddies and toss them into a detention center.

   • 2017, Scott Reardon, The Prometheus Man, →ISBN:

     It'll be tough to black-bag him. They may have to go all the way.