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an excuse; a fair pretense; a mask; a cover. No man is esteemed any ways considerable for policy who wears religion otherwise than as a cloak. South. Cloak bag, a bag in which a cloak or other clothes are carried; a portmanteau. Shak.

is treated as insuring himself to the extent of that part of the risk not covered by his policy, so that any loss is apportioned between him and the insurance company on the principle of average, as in marine insurance or between other insurers.

The colonial system or policy in political government or extension of territory.

would have cast anchors out of the foreship. Acts xxvii. 30. That he should die is worthy policy; But yet we want a color for his death. Shak.

; propitiating. The only alternative, therefore, was to have recourse to the conciliatory policy. Prescott.

A plan of distributing surplus by giving to each policy the excess of premiums and interest earned thereon over the expenses of management, cost of insurance, and the policy value at the date of computation. This excess is called the contribution of the policy.

The policy or practice of transporting convicts to penal settlements. "The evils of convictism." W. Howitt.

consent of the people; an unexpected measure of state, more or less violent; a stroke of policy. -- Coup d'oeil (k. Etym: [F.] (a) A single view; a rapid glance of the eye; a comprehensive view of a scene; as much as can be seen at one view. (b) The general effect of a picture. (c) (Mil.) The faculty or the act of co…

Disposed to favor the great; favoring the policy or party of the court; obsequious. Macualay.

Court policy; the character of a courtier; artifice of a court; court-craft; finesse. [Obs.] She [the Queen] being composed of courtship and Popery. Fuller.

Act or skill in making defense; defensive plan or policy; practice in self defense, as in fencing, boxing, etc. A man of great defense. Spenser. By how much defense is better than no skill. Shak.

The principles and policy of the Democratic party, so called. [U.S.]

A denominational or class spirit or policy; devotion to the interests of a sect or denomination.

[Chatham's] friends; and instantly they turned the vessel wholly out of the course of his policy. Burke. A government which is either unable or unwilling to redress such wrongs is derelict to its highest duties. J. Buchanan.

rdy; slow; sluggish; -- said of actions or measures. Alva, as usual, brought his dilatory policy to bear upon hiMotley. Dilatory plea (Law), a plea designed to create delay in the trial of a cause, generally founded upon some matter not connected with the merits of the case.

To offend; to disgust; to displease. [Obs.] He thought in no policy to distaste the English or Irish by a course of reformation, but sought to please them. Sir J. Davies.

Doing nothing; inactive; idle; lazy; as, a do-nothing policy.

ion." I. Watts. Articles of faith and doctrine. Hooker. The Monroe doctrine (Politics), a policy enunciated by President Monroe (Message, Dec. 2, 1823), the essential feature of which is that the United States will regard as an unfriendly act any attempt on the part of European powers to extend their systems on this co…

r not settled in opinion; being in doubt; wavering or fluctuating; undetermined. "Dubious policy." Sir T. Scott. A dubious, agitated state of mind. Thackeray.

The agency by which the law excludes evidence to dispute certain admissions, which the policy of the law treats as indisputable. Wharton. Stephen. Burrill.