Articles about Politics

Every now and then, a prominent person achieves so much notoriety that his or her name enters the language as an eponym. Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry gave us gerrymander, after carving a salamander-shaped electoral district that favored his party in 1812. Major Vidkun Quisling was a Norwegian officer who collaborated with the Germans during World War II, so quisling came to mean "a traitor to one's country." And when Robert Bork's nomination to the Supreme Court was quashed in 1987, it was said that he got Borked by his opponents. Now there are a couple of names in the news that just might lend themselves to new eponyms. Continue reading...

Topics: Vocabulary Politics Words

President-Elect Obama says we're "now on a glide path to reduce our forces in Iraq." He also says we're "on a glide path for long-term sustainable economic growth." What's up with all the gliding? Continue reading...

Topics: Vocabulary Politics Words Usage

President-Elect Obama has begun to assemble his nominees for Cabinet posts — something he had promised to do, in his first post-election press conference, "with all deliberate haste." If deliberate means "marked by careful consideration or reflection," and haste means "overly eager speed (and possible carelessness)," doesn't that make "deliberate haste" an oxymoron? Continue reading...

Topics: Vocabulary Politics Words

Jon D. of King of Prussia, Pa. writes in with a Mailbag Friday question: " There has been a lot of talk about a landslide victory during this recent presidential election. Not being sure if we actually experienced one or not, I was wondering if you could educate us on what the term actually means and its historical context in describing elections." Continue reading...

Topics: Vocabulary Word Origins Politics Words

In the home stretch of the presidential campaign trail, John McCain has been saying that his opponent Barack Obama is so sure that he's bound for the White House that he's already "measuring the drapes." It's a durable political expression, though very often it's said as "measuring for drapes" (which makes a bit more sense), and sometimes it's curtains that get presumptuously measured (for), rather than drapes. What's the difference, anyway? Continue reading...

Topics: Vocabulary Politics Words Usage

What will persist in our collective memory from last week's presidential debate, the second of three between John McCain and Barack Obama? The Philadelphia Inquirer suggests that only two remarks will be remembered: McCain referring to Obama as "that one," and Obama's defense against charges of naivete, "that somehow, you know, I'm green behind the ears." McCain's "that one" has already become an ironic catchphrase, even generating a website selling "That One '08" T-shirts. But what's the deal with "green behind the ears"? Didn't Obama mean "wet behind the ears"? Continue reading...

Topics: Vocabulary Word Origins Politics Words

On Word Face-Off you can look at different word-based analyses of the second presidential debate between McCain and Obama.

Topics: Vocabulary Blogs Politics Words

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Word RoutesExploring the pathways of our lexicon

Eponyms in the Making?

Word RoutesExploring the pathways of our lexicon

Happy Landings on the "Glide Path"

Word RoutesExploring the pathways of our lexicon

Moving with Deliberate Haste

Word RoutesExploring the pathways of our lexicon

Mailbag Friday: "Landslide"

Word RoutesExploring the pathways of our lexicon

Drapes, Curtains, and an Old Political Standby

Word RoutesExploring the pathways of our lexicon

Green Behind the Ears?

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