Legal Definitions - cahoots

Cahoots is an informal term used to describe a secret partnership or collaboration, particularly when the purpose or actions of that partnership are illicit, unethical, or intended to deceive. It implies a hidden agreement between individuals or groups to work together, often to achieve an unfair advantage or to commit a wrongful act.

Here are some examples illustrating the use of "cahoots":

• Imagine two rival electronics manufacturers who are secretly in cahoots. They agree to fix the prices of their popular smartphones at an artificially high level, ensuring both companies profit excessively at the expense of consumers.

  This illustrates "cahoots" because the manufacturers have a clandestine agreement to manipulate market prices, which is an illegal act of collusion designed to gain an unfair financial advantage over the public.

• A local restaurant owner and a health inspector are suspected of being in cahoots after the restaurant consistently receives perfect scores despite numerous visible sanitation issues, leading to rumors of bribes being exchanged.

  In this scenario, "in cahoots" describes the suspected secret arrangement between the owner and the inspector. Their hidden collaboration would involve the inspector overlooking violations in exchange for some benefit, thus undermining public health standards and the integrity of the inspection process.

• During a high-stakes poker game, two players at the table are observed making subtle hand signals to each other, leading other participants to believe they are in cahoots to cheat the other players.

  This example demonstrates "cahoots" as it points to a secret, collaborative effort between the two players to gain an unfair advantage through deception. Their hidden communication suggests a partnership aimed at manipulating the game's outcome.