“双重间谍;双面特工”:表面为一方工作,暗中又为另一方(甚至对立方)提供情报的人。常见于情报、军事、政治等语境。(也可泛指在两个阵营间“左右逢源”的内线人物。)
/ˌdʌbəl ˈeɪdʒənt/
The police discovered he was a double-agent.
警方发现他是个双重间谍。
Though hired by the agency, she secretly acted as a double-agent, feeding carefully chosen information to the enemy to protect her family.
尽管受雇于情报机构,她却暗中充当双重特工,向敌方递送精心筛选的情报,以保护家人。
double- 表示“二重、双重”,agent 源自拉丁语 agere(“做、行动”),在英语里常指“代理人、特工”。合起来 double-agent 字面义为“同时为两边行动的特工”,20世纪情报战语境中尤为常用。