WARa period during which a state of war officially exists but there is no actual fighting 假战争〔处于战争状态但并未实际交战的时期〕
Examples from the Corpus
phoney war• It is election year, and a phoney war is being waged between the two main parties.• It has been a phoney war.• There is the negative peace of a phoney war or a balance of power, which is not peace at all.• In the mild autumn of the phoney war, it was a prosperous and agreeable neighbourhood in which to live.• Howe's speech effectively marked the end of the phoney war and the start of the public campaign for votes.