( also phoney war ) n
a situation in which two or more countries have officially declared war but have not yet started to fight. The best-known phony war was the first six months of World War II . Britain and France declared war against Germany in September 1939, but did not send any soldiers to fight until Germany attacked Denmark and Norway in April 1940
: ( fig )
The President spoke of the need for a real war, not a phony war, against drugs.