That wiki link has a great example: "To give an example in layman's terms: a mother may tell her child he can't have cookies from the cookie jar. The father, r

That wiki link has a great example: "To give an example in layman's terms: a mother may tell her child he can't have cookies from the cookie jar. The father, regardless of his beliefs, can't tell the child it's okay to have a cookie as that would result in a conflict with the mother. If the father sees the child taking a cookie anyway, he may choose not to say anything. He may not want to punish or stop the child but can't condone the behaviour either. The father may act as if nothing had happened to avoid a conflict with both his beliefs and the mother. He "gedoogs" the behaviour."