Wiktionary:Word of the day/2021/November 4

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éminence grise n

(idiomatic) A secret or unofficial decision-maker. François Leclerc du Tremblay or Père Joseph, a French Capuchin friar who was the confidant and agent of Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister of France under Louis XIII, was born on this day in 1577. The term was first used to refer to du Tremblay’s influence over the Cardinal (who bore the honorific of Eminence), and the colour of his habit.

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