codeword

From code +‎ word.

codeword (plural codewords)

1. (cryptography) A string representing an encoded piece of text.

   Bob cannot get any information out of the codeword since he doesn't know what transmission bases Alice used.

2. A word or phrase (or by extension a concept) used to make a (concealed) reference to another word or concept.

   Synonym: dogwhistle

   • 1993, The Economist:

     Even the most virtuous concepts were scrutinised by governments eager to interpret them as codewords for something unwelcome.

   • 2007, Rough Guides, The Rough Guide to the Energy Crisis, UK: Rough Guides, →ISBN, page 194:

     El Niño has hit the headlines as a codeword for bad weather, especially in the Pacific and California. But there is a little more to it than that.

   • 2013, Paul Vallely, Pope Francis: Untying the Knots, A&C Black, →ISBN, page 379:

     The Catholic Church has had problems in the past with fluid notions of gender, most particularly at the United Nations where some groups have used gender as a codeword for reproductive health rights which are deemed to include abortion.

3. A type of crossword puzzle where the letters of the alphabet are represented by numbers and the solver must identify them by their position and frequency.

• pseudocodeword

• alphametic
• cryptarithm