: a person or thing closely associated with another : ally
political bedfellows
—often used in the phrase strange bedfellows to describe an unlikely alliance of people or things
Politics indeed makes strange bedfellows and on the issue of local regulation of pesticides, environmental and states' rights advocates have joined forces. Elena S. RutrickPolities and good architecture are strange bedfellows, but in Barcelona the marriage has worked. Cathleen McGuigan
a child-welfare cause that has made bedfellows of activists who are normally on opposite ends of the political spectrum
Recent Examples on the WebBefore the turn of the 20th century, deodorant—and its common bedfellow, antiperspirant, which limits sweating—were virtually nonexistent. Katherine Dunn, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2022 Anger is often the easiest emotion to access and blame is its bedfellow. Natashia Deón, Harper's BAZAAR, 4 Nov. 2021 This latest strange bedfellow team features a reluctant Rhea Ripley and an overly enthusiastic Nikki Cross. Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 7 Sep. 2021 Doudrop and Eva Marie are officially WWE’s latest strange bedfellow tag team, because if there’s anything WWE needs more of right now... Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 31 May 2021 For Ricketts, whose sister is gay and active in L.G.B.T. advocacy—and whose uncle was gay and died of AIDS—Cuccinelli seemed like an odd political bedfellow. Alex Kotlowitz, The New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2020 The art economy and its bedfellow, tourism, have made nature more valuable unspoiled. Lucy Jakub, The New York Review of Books, 12 Sep. 2020 My new bedfellow has a stable clip for attachment, a flexible neck that can turn every which way, and a slim head with a slender rectangle that graciously sheds light on my reading material of choice. Abigail Glasgow, SELF, 6 Aug. 2020 There are plenty of reasons Deutsche Telekom AG and Vodafone Group Plc make for uneasy bedfellows. Alex Webb | Bloomberg, Washington Post, 18 Nov. 2019 See More