A
practice in which the
guilty parties attempt to have a romantic relationship without letting their friends in on the game. Usually done to avoid the scrutiny of excessively ignorant companions or to respect the feelings of
hopeless romantics in the group who still hold affection for a guilty party and might be inspired to take
drastic action against said relationship.
I'm currently engaged in a relationship of this type, and even though it sounds like it might not work, if you knew our friends, you would do the same thing. Besides, even if it doesn't work and everyone figures it out, being alone with the knowledge for a little while is worth the trouble. We're taking the view that everyone else doesn't deserve to know. We don't need their silly social pressures right now.
"When we pass in the hall we can look at each other and have a sort of secret knowledge," in the words of this good friend. We're going to give it a shot, it'll be fun while it lasts. Code names and everything!