Idiom idiom
strange bedfellows
Meaning
An unusual combination or political alliance.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“Those two rival companies are strange bedfellows in this new project.”
“The environmental group and the oil company became strange bedfellows to support the new tax law.”
“In the volatile world of local politics, the radical activist and the conservative mayor proved to be strange bedfellows during the recent election.”
Origin
first recorded 17th c.
first recorded 17th c.
1610, from Shakespeare's The Tempest.
Anchors to
Last updated August 10, 2026