fellow traveler

a fellow traveler

Someone who identifies with or is sympathetic to the aims or ideology of a political movement or organization, but is not a formal or full member of it. Used especially in the 1950s in reference to those suspected of being communist sympathizers. In my grandfather's day, if someone accused you of being a fellow traveler, it was often to derail your career completely. Despite having a mark against him as a "fellow traveler," he still managed to remain at the Hollywood elite.
See also: fellow, traveler
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

fellow traveler

Someone sympathetic to the beliefs and activities of an organization but not a member of that group. The phrase originally applied to people in the early days of the Soviet Union who supported the Russian revolution and the Communist Party but were not members. Communism was popular among many American intellectuals during the 1930s and '40s, but following World War II, this country's attitude toward the Soviets changed in light of Stalin's purges and revelations of espionage. Accusations that Soviet sympathizers had infiltrated our government and military led to congressional investigations, and the phrase “fellow traveler” was used to label those accused of “un-American” activities or even just “Communist dupes.” Many such people found themselves blacklisted or otherwise persecuted. A rarely used vestige of the phrase now applies to anyone who agrees with any viewpoint or faction but does not publicly work for it. The Soviet Union named its early space satellites “Sputnik,” the Russian word for “fellow traveler.”
See also: fellow, traveler
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price
See also:
  • a fellow traveler
  • a fellow traveller
  • fellow
  • traveler
  • traveller
  • travellers
  • potential
  • potential formal date
  • PFD
  • splinter group
References in periodicals archive
New York [USA], Nov 28 ( ANI ): Online marketplace and hospitality service provider Airbnb announced that its users can now split payments with their fellow travelers, thus reducing the burden on one traveler.
Airbnb introduces payment splitting option for group trips
But at cruising altitude, we want to leave our cares, and certainly those of fellow travelers, below.
Silence in the clouds; Cellphones on planes should remain off
, though not really a new invention, has been popularized by some as a tool to get fellow travelers to get out of the way.
China's Wacky Inventions To Aid Chinese New Year Travelers [VIDEO]
The editors collect 30 fellow travelers' tales (some of which were published between 1999 and 2006), contending that: "Italy is a cultural homeland for all of us in the Western world...." A map situates the stories which explore the range of the country's regional delights (e.g., with "Under the Tuscan Sun" author Frances Mayes) and quirks ("The Pasta Nazi" in Rome).
30 days in Italy; true stories of escape to the good life
Featuring an introduction by Robert Gover, the collected tales are "Years in Kaldar", "Small Gray Blues", "Gurb's Plunge", "A Cheerful Death", "South American Getaway", "Cast Upon the Day", "Communion", "The Splendor of Truth", "The Pleasure of Man and Woman Together on Earth", "Surprising Endings" and "Fellow Travelers".
Cast Upon the Day
During their stay, the patient and his 3 fellow travelers visited gardens and studied the local natural vegetation.
Cryptococcus gattii risk for tourists visiting Vancouver Island, Canada
I would recommend it to anyone curious about the spiritual journeys of our fellow travelers in the 21st century.
The God Factor
As she travels north, as much in pilgrimage as in flight, she establishes a secular belief system she calls Earthseed, a faith that "God is Change" and "We shape God." Olamina and her fellow travelers argue that human beings need to value adaptability, diversity, and responsibility if they are to halt social entropy and make something of the ruins left to them.
The parables of Octavia Butler: a science-fiction writer's rich libertarian legacy
During this conversation I brought up the subject of police review boards and she stated that she was appalled at the success of the Communist Party and its cadre of fellow travelers in persuading New York politicians to accept the idea of a civilian police review board.
He definitely made a difference; from FBI field agent to police chief to protector of the Constitution, W. Cleon Skousen took on tough duties and excelled at them
THIS WELL-ILLUSTRATED book traces the worldview of Communists and fellow travelers as depicted in the visual arts through a period of ever-changing party positions.
Andrew Hemingway, Artists on the Left: American Artists and the Communist Movement, 1926-1956
Fellow travelers, strange homes on wheels--wandahomes--pulled by mammoths, a bird who babbles all, cheerful Moorfolk, subterraneous caverns, a village named Meander, friends who will help, and those who will not, dreams directed by Merlin himself, wondrous mythic creatures, knights, a special key, Pits of Gloom, kidnapping, slavery all abound in this absorbing tale of Merlin's descendants.
Merlin's Kin
Notwithstanding the bias of my fellow travelers (most of course northerners), the thing I like about skiing is you can't cheat.
Resolve to have simple resolutions
To do so, he must wean himself from dependence on fellow travelers who uncritically accept half-argued claims and, what might be, less than honest scholarly practices.
Locke and liberal origins
One of the interesting aspects of this account is that a main character is Jewish, facing anti-Semitism from his fellow travelers and coping.
Levine, Ellen. The journal of Jedediah Barstow, an immigrant on the Oregon Trail; Overland, 1845
The exercises cover the gamut of office politics, including goal setting; use of power, both ethical and unethical; the management pyramid (think hierarchy); a roster of the players--such as enemies, fellow travelers, and allies--and how to understand their needs, meet them, and still get what you want.
Step into the light. (Bulletin Board)