Wizard of Oz

The name of a character from the 1900 book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, or any of its adaptations, about the journey of Dorothy through the magical Land of Oz in search of a way home.

The goal of Neimo is to provide designers with a "Wizard of Oz" environment to observe and evaluate how users interact with multimodal interfaces.

1992, Wayne D. Gray, William E. Hefley, Dianne Murray, “NEIMO, A MULTIMODAL WIZARD OF OZ PLATFORM”, in Proceedings of the 1993 International Workshop on ..., page 204:

Once a preliminary application design is complete, a wizard-of-oz study can help test and refine the interface.

2006, E. K. Brown, Anne Anderson, Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics, volume 11, page 769:

A Wizard of Oz prototype is an incomplete system that a designer can simulate "behind a curtain" (usually by taking the place of a recognizer) while observing the reactions of real end users (see Figure 1).

2007, Proceedings of the ACM Symposium on User Interface Software ..., page 119:

(engineering, social sciences, usually attributive) A person simulating the operation of a supposed intelligent device, usually in an experiment.


boll weevil

As the veteran columnist John Chamberlain put it back in 1982, the ATARI Democrats ‘include many of the Southern “boll weevil” contingent that has supported Reagan on taxes, [and]^([sic]) is for using government to channel investment money to the newer “high tech” industries.

2019, Richard Carr, quoting John Chamberlain, March of the Moderates […] , Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN:

(US politics, informal, dated) A conservative Southern Democrat.


Tito

Josip Broz Tito, a Yugoslav revolutionary and politician.


War on Terror

A list obtained and partially verified by the AP cites the names of more than 10,000 Uyghurs sent to prison in just Konasheher county alone, one of dozens in southern Xinjiang. In recent years, China has waged a brutal crackdown on the Uyghurs, a largely Muslim minority, which it has described as a war on terror.

2022 May 16, Huizhong Wu, Drake Kang, “Uyghur country in China has highest prison rate in the world”, in AP News, archived from the original on 2022-05-16:

War on Terrorism
War on Terrorism#English


War on Terrorism

(US) An ongoing campaign by the United States (and some of its allies) the stated aim of which is to counter international terrorism, but especially to counter al-Qaeda and other militant Muslim groups.

反恐戰爭

ongoing campaign by the US and its allies


muckraker

John Bunyan
The Pilgrim's Progress
Theodore Roosevelt
muckraker

From muck + raker. Believed to have been coined following a 1906 speech by United States President Theodore Roosevelt, in which he likened the investigative journalist to ‘the Man with the Muck-rake’, a character in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress.

"Oh, in many ways. There are two classes of people who are not welcomed on the Canal Zone—magazine writers and applicants for positions who have political influence back of them. The former are regarded as muckrakers, the latter as spies."

"Lady," says he, "the goil's nutty! You got a bughouse patient on your bands! This here talk about the white-slave traffic, ma'am… it's all the work o' these magazine muckrakers!"

en:Progressive-Era justice-seeker in 1890s-1920s span

(US, historical) One of a group of American investigative reporters, novelists and critics of the Progressive Era (the 1890s to the 1920s).


Maui

From Hawaiian Maui, probably a contraction of Māui (a Hawaiian trickster god); or borrowed from Maori Māui.


Enrolled Bill

(US politics) Legislation that has been passed by both houses of Congress, signed by their presiding officers, and sent to the President for signature.


bigly

en-adj

bigly (comparative more bigly, superlative most bigly)

more bigly (comparative)
most bigly (superlative)

From Middle English bygly, biglie, byggly (“comfortable, stately, perfect”), borrowed from Old Norse byggiligr, byggviligr (“habitable”); equivalent to big (“to build, construct, live in, reside, dwell”) + -ly. Cognate with Icelandic byggilegur (“inhabitable, liveable”).

cog

"And steek it weel, thy biglie bower, / And by the rood thee sain; / And tell thy bedes in haly guise, / Till this ae night is gane!"

1806, Robert Jamieson, “Donul and Evir”, in Robert Jamieson, editor, Popular Ballads and Songs, from Tradition, Manuscripts, and Scarce Editions; with Translations of Similar Pieces from the Ancient Danish Language, and a Few Originals by the Editor, volume I, Edinburgh: Printed for Archibald Constable and Co. Edinburgh; Cadell and Davies, and John Murray, London, →OCLC, page 235:

When I was in my bigly bower, / I wore but what I would; / This night I'm lighter 'mang Willie's horse feet, / I fear I'll die for cold.

1828, Peter Buchan, “Burd Helen”, in Ancient Ballads and Songs of the North of Scotland, hitherto Unpublished. With Explanatory Notes, by Peter Buchan, Corresponding Member of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, volume II, Edinburgh: Printed for W[illiam] & D[avid] Laing, and J. Stevenson [et al.], →OCLC, page 35:

(Scotland, now obsolete elsewhere) Habitable, liveable; hence delightful, pleasant, pleasing.


Tom Sawyer

The verb is a reference to the title character of the novel.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, a popular 1876 novel by Mark Twain about a young boy growing up in the Antebellum South on the Mississippi River.


Reagan

Audio (US)

Anglicized from Irish Gaelic Ó Riagáin "descendant of Riagán", a personal name possibly derived from ríodhgach "impulsive, furious".

Of the administration of Ronald Reagan, U.S. President from 1981–1989.

A male given name transferred from the surname, of occasional usage.

A female given name transferred from the surname, of 1970s and later American usage.


Confederate States of America

the Confederate States of America (canonical)

United States of America
United States of America

(historical) An unrecognized nation existing from 1861–1865, consisting of the eleven Southern states who sought independence from the United States of America over the issue of slavery.


Manassas

Μανασσας

city in the northeastern part of the state of Virginia in the United States

Prince William County
Prince William County#English

An independent city, the county seat of Prince William County, in northeastern Virginia, United States, known as Manassas Junction in the 19th century.

A minor city in Tattnall County, Georgia, United States.


Clintonesque

en-adj

Clintonesque (comparative more Clintonesque, superlative most Clintonesque)

more Clintonesque (comparative)
most Clintonesque (superlative)

In a manner reminiscent of the style of politician and Bill's wife Hillary Clinton.


mossback

From moss + back (in senses 1 (“person with old-fashioned views; one who is very conservative or reactionary”) and 2.3 (“fish that is large and old”) probably a variant of mossyback, which is attested earlier), alluding to someone or something that is so old or has remained so unmoving that it is as if moss has grown on them or it.
Sense 2.4 (“largemouth bass”) may refer to the back of the fish being a dark green colour.

(informal, historical) A person who stayed hidden to evade conscription (especially by the Confederate States Army) during the American Civil War (1861–1865); a mossyback.


tricorder

The name of such a device in Star Trek, from tri- (referring to its three input keys, which by default cover geological, meteorological, and biological functions) + (re)corder

PLEASE TURN OFF ALL CELL PHONES AND TRICORDERS

1999-2003, Matt Groening, opening title screen from the start, in Futurama, FOX Television Network:

(fiction) A fictional futuristic handheld device used for scanning, which may be specialized for medical, technical, or other purposes.


Reaganism

en-noun

Reaganism (countable and uncountable, plural Reaganisms)

(uncountable) The specific conservative ideology associated with the Reagan administration, 1981-1989.

(countable) A statement or position commonly associated with Ronald Reagan.


Captain Kirk

From a character in Star Trek, 1960s science-fiction TV series.

1984, Nena, 99 Red Balloons (English version of 99 Luftballons from 1983).
Everyone's a superhero. Everyone's a Captain Kirk.

There may be times when he is undone by his genius and it is the emotion-rich perspective of a Captain Kirk that finally saves the day, but this is the "mystery of being human."

1999, Peter D. Hershock, Reinventing the Wheel: A Buddhist Response to the Information Age, page 90:

Whatever the crisis may be, Captain Kirk is always at the helm making the decisions.

2003, Dan A. Kimball, The Emerging Church: Vintage Christianity for New Generations:

Flight engineer is not exactly a Captain Kirk position, either. But so what?

A heroic person, particularly one with exaggerated bravery and leadership characteristics.


Shermanesque

en-adj

Shermanesque (comparative more Shermanesque, superlative most Shermanesque)

more Shermanesque (comparative)
most Shermanesque (superlative)

From Sherman + -esque, after American Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman, who declined when being considered as a possible Republican candidate for the presidential election of 1884, saying, "I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected."

Having the intent of refusing a nomination to public office, or of refusing to serve in such office if elected.

Shermanesque statement
William Tecumseh Sherman


four score and seven years ago

en-adv

four score and seven years ago (not comparable)

/ˈfɔː skɔː‿ɹən ˌsɛvən jɪəz əˌɡəʊ/

/ˈfɔɹ skɔɹ ən ˌsɛvən jɪɹz əˌɡoʊ/

En-au-four score and seven years ago.ogg

Literally, “87 years ago” (score sense: “group of 20”) the beginning of the Gettysburg Address made on November 19, 1863, by United States President Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865). The widespread familiarity of Lincoln’s address, the unusual and poetic wording, and its status as the first words of the speech have caused the phrase to enter the public consciousness.

It was established four score and seven years ago, and since that time its activities have been intertwined with the internal development of the Nation itself.

1936 April 16, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Address at the Dedication of the New Department of the Interior Building:

I imagined momentarily that it was four score and seven years ago, that I had just been brought forth from my mother […]

2010 December 23, Phillip Roth, “Prologue”, in The Great American Novel, →ISBN, page 21:

Four score and seven years ago, I began writing an annual letter to be enclosed in my Christmas cards.

2012 February 20, Vicky DeCoster, “The Letter”, in The Wacky World of Womanhood, →ISBN, page 93:

(idiomatic, often humorous) Used (sometimes sarcastically) to indicate that a past event being mentioned is particularly important: a long time ago; many years ago.


Juneteenth

en-proper noun

Juneteenth (countable and uncountable, plural Juneteenths)

Blend of June + nineteenth, commemorating the anniversary of June 19, 1865, when Union Army General Gordon Granger (1821–1876) issued General Order No. 3 in Galveston, Texas, to enforce President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of September 22, 1862. The General Order stated that all previously enslaved people in Texas were now free. Entered wider usage after becoming a federal holiday in 2021.

There was^([sic – meaning were]) not so many colored people in the city as usual on Saturday evening, all of them, very near, being out at the "Juneteenth siliibration."

1891 June 25, “Local news”, in Brenham Weekly Banner, volume XXVI, number 26, Brenham, Tex.: J[ohn] G. Rankin, →OCLC, page [7], column 1:

If there is plenty of sunshine within the next ten days there will be sufficient supply of watermelons in Southwest Texas to take care of the "Juneteenth" celebrations of San Antonio's colored population.

1912 June 15, “Watermelons are Moving”, in Fruit Trade Journal and Produce Record, volume XXXXVII, number 10, New York, N.Y.: Fruit Trade Journal Company, →OCLC, page 12:

"'Twere Juneteenth day," she began reverentially, "when my light firs' broke. The darkies all bunched up down in the live oak grove were a-singin' an' a-dancin', 'spressin' their glory 'cause they warnt no mo' slaves nohow.["]

1921, Julia Walcott Hoffman, chapter I, in Pearl o’ Great Price or A Woman’s ’Sperience, Chicago, Ill.: Gift and Music Shop, →OCLC, page 11:

"But whut if it rains?" asked Josy. "It always do rain on Juneteenth." / "Dat's jes' de way of it," said John. "Someone is always a-th'owin' cold water on eve'ything I does."

1922, Hubert Anthony Shands, chapter VIII, in White and Black, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Company, →OCLC, page 50:

He had invited her to attend the Juneteenth picnic as his guest all day. And now he had done something that never, in all his life, had he heard of any colored boy doing before—planned an expensive outing right on the eve of the big annual event. [...] "Juneteenth"—white people also pretty generally use the phrase—is their Emancipation Day, and it is the one day in the year when every Caucasian is supposed to consider the comfort and enjoyment of his negro friends ahead of his own.

1925, J. Frank Davis, “Episode I. Juneteenth and Joada”, in Almanzar Evarts, Hero, Macon, Ga.: J. W. Burke Company, →OCLC, pages 13–14:

Truck drivers, business men, and school teachers belonging to the racial group have told me tales, but the best of tale-tellers has been some ex-slave buoyed up by the spirit of a Nineteenth of June celebration—the "Juneteenth"—the day on which all colored people in the South commemorate the freedom of their race from slavery. The significance of the day is so great and the tales I have collected are so bound up with the legalized slavery which, in 1865, this day put an end to, that I have used Juneteenth as a title. Nobody who does not understand a Juneteenth celebration can ever understand the Negro or his songs and tales.

1932, J[ohn] Mason Brewer, “Juneteenth”, in J[ames] Frank Dobie, editor, Tone the Bell Easy (Publications of the Texas Folk-lore Society; no. 10), Austin, Tex.: Texas Folk-lore Society, →OCLC, pages 8–54:

The annual celebration by Negroes of June 19—the day when emancipation from slavery became effective in the State [...]—is general; few Texas Negroes would consider working on "Juneteenth" if it can be avoided. The holiday is generally observed by a picnic at which everyone eats, dances and sings to his heart's content.

1940, Writers’ Program, Work Projects Administration, Texas, “Folklore and Folkways”, in Texas: A Guide to the Lone Star State (American Guides Series), New York, N.Y.: Hastings House, published 1943, →OCLC, part I (Texas: Yesterday and Today), page 97:

As I chewed on my extra-hot barbecue sandwich, Mr. Artis Lovelady, the vendor and celebration sponsor, explained why he was having a Juneteenth observance: "I just wanted to do something, just wanted to kinda bring back old times and let the younger people see what we used to do to celebrate it on account of our Emancipation Proclamation."

1987, William H. Wiggins, Jr., “Following the Freedom Trail”, in O Freedom!: Afro-American Emancipation Celebrations, Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, published 2000, →ISBN, page 5:

But what they [black people] chose to emphasize by means of traditional activities each year was the memory of gaining freedom. Consequently in African-American communities, especially in the South, a day of prayer, preaching, and festivities usually known as "Juneteenth" came to be observed [...].

1991, Michael Kammen, “The Civil War Remembered—but Unreconciled”, in Mystic Chords of Memory: The Transformation of Tradition in American Culture, 1st Vintage Books edition, New York, N.Y.: Vintage Books, published February 1993, →ISBN, part 2 (Circa 1870 to 1915), page 122:

There's been a heap of Juneteenths before this one and I tell you there'll be a heap more before we're truly free!

1999, Ralph Ellison, chapter 7, in John F. Callahan, editor, Juneteenth: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Random House, →ISBN, page 131:

On June 19, 1883, an eighteen-gun salute on the plaza in front of the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, signaled the start of the annual Juneteenth observance.

2005, W[illiam] Fitzhugh Brundage, “Celebrating Black Memory in the Postbellum South”, in The Southern Past: A Clash of Race and Memory, Cambridge, Mass., London: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, →ISBN, page 55:

Proud Pelham in Navarro County had a long history of major Juneteenths. Every year on June 19, pigs and goats roasted over open pits or old bedsprings, while fish deep-fried in lard in big washpots hung from trees.

2005, Thad Sitton, James H. Conrad, “Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings”, in Freedom Colonies: Independent Black Texans in the Time of Jim Crow (Jack and Doris Smothers Series in Texas History, Life, and Culture; no. 15), Austin, Tex.: University of Texas Press, →ISBN, page 105:

Senator Taylor, with unanimous consent, asked that when the Senate adjourn, it do so in honor of "Juneteenth Day," to symbolize the struggle for freedom and equality in the United States. [...] Indeed, Juneteenth Day is much more about the future than the past. It is a day where we gather to continue the struggle. We all realize the true freedom still eludes many of us.

2009 June 17, Lena C. Taylor, “Announcements, Adjournment Honors, and Remarks under Special Privilege”, in State of Wisconsin Senate Journal: Ninety-ninth Regular Session (Wisconsin State Senate), Madison, Wis.: State Printer, →OCLC, page 218, column 2:

[M]aking Juneteenth a federal holiday is both urgent and necessary. [...] A Juneteenth federal holiday would be more than a "day off," but one filled with educational experiences about the institution and affliction of slavery, community conversations on race and reconciliation, and cultural experiences that bring the history, challenges, and contributions of Black Americans to the forefront of the nation's consciousness.

2020 June 14, Seth Cohen, “No More Excuses – It’s Time to Declare Juneteenth a Federal Holiday”, in Forbes, New York, N.Y.: Forbes, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2020-06-14:

(US) Also more fully as Juneteenth Day: the United States national holiday commemorating the end of slavery, observed on June 19.

Abraham Lincoln
Emancipation Proclamation
General Order No. 3
Gordon Granger
Union Army

Dia De l'Emancipació

holiday celebrated in the U.S. on June 19, commemorating the end of slavery


Berlin Wall

(politics) Any barrier designed to keep people from crossing a border, e.g. the one proposed to keep people from crossing from Mexico into the United States.


PWA

Public Works Administration
w:Public Works Administration

(historical, US politics, 1933–1943) Initialism of Public Works Administration.


Disneyland

The archetypical theme park, located in Anaheim, California. Other Disneyland theme parks exist in other cities such as Chessy (Seine-et-Marne, France), Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.


Hooverville

From Hoover + -ville, named after Herbert Hoover.

(historical) Any of many shantytowns established by the homeless in the United States in the Great Depression of the early twentieth century.


Clintonian

en-adj

Clintonian (comparative more Clintonian, superlative most Clintonian)

more Clintonian (comparative)
most Clintonian (superlative)

"Obama's Clintonian circle: the abundance of Clinton veterans recruited by Obama may not be the change voters had in mind." (Yahoo Home Page, November 19, 2008 2:58PM (PST) ).

(US politics) Of or relating to Bill Clinton (born 1946), US politician who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001.

(US politics) Of or relating to Hillary Clinton (born 1947), US politician and wife of Bill Clinton.

(US politics) Of or relating to DeWitt Clinton (born 1769), US politician.


states' rights

(US politics, conservatism) Rights reserved to the 50 state governments of the United States that allow each one to set policy on some issues, rather than being subject to federal policy, especially in reference to their right to allow slavery before the Civil War.


Jedi mind trick

en-noun

Jedi mind trick (plural Jedi mind tricks)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Jedi mind trick.wav

From the Star Wars films, the first of which—Star Wars—was released in 1977. In the films, members of the Jedi order are able to use a metaphysical power called the Force to implant suggestions in other people’s minds to induce them to act as the Jedi wish.

I watched the show to see what kind of guy he was, and the character on the show ain't too bright, so I figured if he came up to me I could use the Jedi mind trick on him. Mr T would go, “I heard you did some jokes about me!” “No, you didn't!” “Maybe I didn't!”

1987, Eddie Murphy Raw, spoken by Eddie Murphy:

Screamin’ “Brand new!”, when they just sanitized the old shit / Suppose it's just another clever Jedi mind trick

1998 September 29, “Thieves in the Night”, in Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star, performed by Black Star:

You have to estimate your own starting weights, using trial and error. There's no way to get around it. I've met personal trainers who were phenomenally good at figuring out their clients' starting weights. […] Maybe it's some kind of Jedi mind trick. But unless you have one of those trainers, you have to figure it out on your own.

2005, Lou Schuler, Alwyn Cosgrove, “Charting Your Progress”, in The New Rules of Lifting: Six Basic Moves for Maximum Muscle, London: Avery, →ISBN, part 4 (Programs), page 205:

"It's the Fourth Law of Magic," I said. "You aren't allowed to control the mind of another human. But … hell, it's of the first things a lot of these stupid kids try—the old Jedi mind trick. Sometimes they start with maybe getting homework overlooked by a teacher or convincing their parents to buy them a car.[…]"

2006 May 2, Jim Butcher, chapter 5, in Proven Guilty […] (The Dresden Files; 8), New York, N.Y.: Roc, →ISBN, page 27:

Brian was a good diversion. For every girl that went loopy over him, there was one less chick she had to worry about being in Craig's face. All she had to do was stay as far away from Brian as possible … you know, just in case that Jedi mind trick thing melted the BF shield.

2007, Paula Chase, “Hottie Jedi Mind Tricks”, in Don’t Get It Twisted (A Del Rio Bay Clique Novel), New York, N.Y.: Dafina Books for Young Readers, Kensington Publishing Corp., →ISBN, page 60:

(idiomatic) A mental feat such as apparently inducing someone to act a certain way or reading someone's mind, achieved as if by magic or telepathy.

Jedi
Star Wars
Star Wars Databank
the Force

絕地控心術

mental feat achieved as if by magic or telepathy


Clintonista

(sometimes derogatory) A devoted admirer of one or more of the U.S. public figures in the Clinton family: Hillary, Bill, or Chelsea.


green state

(US politics) A state where the Green Party of the United States (GPUS) is influential.

(US politics, idiomatic, informal, uncommon) A U.S. state perceived as environmentally friendly.


I approve this message

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-I approve this message.wav

the elective law passed in 2002
w:Stand By Your Ad provision

(US politics) a phrase said by candidates for federal office to show their consent to comply with the elective law passed in 2002.


Clintonize

en-verb

Clintonize (third-person singular simple present Clintonizes, present participle Clintonizing, simple past and past participle Clintonized)

Clintonizes (present singular third-person)
Clintonizing (participle present)
Clintonized (participle past)
Clintonized (past)


Pax Americana

From Latin pāx (“peace”) + Americāna (“American”) after the model of the imperial Roman Pāx Rōmāna and earlier British Pāx Britannica.

Earlier this month Boston's WBUR radio station titled a special on US imperial power with the Latin tag Pax Americana. Tom Wolfe has written that the America of today is “now the mightiest power on earth, as omnipotent as… Rome under Julius Caesar”.

2002 September 18, Jonathan Freedland, “Rome, AD… Rome, DC?”, in The Guardian:

A war like this — a voluntary war of aggression — would be a sign that Putin believed that Pax Americana was over and that the U.S., the European Union and their allies had become too weak to exact painful consequences.

2022 February 21, David Leonhardt, “Why Ukraine Is Different”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

The period of relative peace in the Western world since the end of World War II in 1945, coinciding with the military and economic dominance of the United States.


and your little dog too

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-and your little dog too.wav

From a line spoken by the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz to Dorothy and her dog Toto: "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!".

(humorous) A statement that not only will the person being addressed be punished but their conspirators will also.


cowardly lion

After a character in L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900).

"This $13 billion mutual fund, which calls itself "classic growth investing, the Janus way," is in reality a cowardly lion." -Forbes

"California is right; we trust Washington state will follow in court. Earlier court decisions against the EPA's Cowardly Lion position on global warming suggest legal action may have good prospects." -Seattle Post Intelligencer

"On the cowardly “lion” derisive nickname: The 49ers PR people are saying that Georgatos/Brown merely overheard a few players joking about that in the locker room, and that Smith was in on it–it was just jocularity among QBs, meaning nothing, and used out of context in the story. That’s what they’re saying." -http://www.mercextra.com/blogs/kawakami/2007/12/12/whos-with-me-on-alex-smiths-side-plus-more-notes-on-the-smith-nolan-feud-and-clumsy-attempted-cover-up/

(figuratively) A person who acts tough but misses a golden opportunity out of fear or cowardice.

Cowardly Lion
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz


yellow brick road

en-noun

yellow brick road (plural yellow brick roads)

From the classic film The Wizard of Oz and the book series on which it was based. Originally the literal road to the Emerald City, which was paved with yellow bricks possibly to invoke the notion of gold.

But we're coming up on a bend in the yellow brick road, and going 'round it could cause the party lights to go dark quickly.

2007 December 10, Morgan Housel, “The Impending Destruction of the U.S. Economy: Part 1”, in The Motley Fool:

But for Clinton the yellow brick road that led inevitably to the Democratic nomination has suddenly become a little bumpy.

2007 December 21, “Hillary's mountain gets higher”, in The Sydney Morning Herald:

Smash the emergency glass, press the big red button and just STOP. Step off the Yellow Brick Road, get mixed up with some flying monkeys and throw yourself into all manner of trouble. Trust me. IT'S YOUR LAST CHANCE.

2011 August 19, Emma Kennedy, “Relax - a gap year's supposed to be fun”, in The Guardian:

(idiomatic, often humorous) A proverbial path to a Promised Land of one's hopes and dreams.


running mate

My first decision after being assured of victory was to choose my running mate. I decided that I needed to compensate for my lack of experience in Washington, and seriously considered Senators John Glenn, Frank Church, Scoop Jackson, Ed Muskie, and Walter Mondale.

2011, Jimmy Carter, White House Diary, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 5:

Noem’s latest justification for fatally shooting Cricket at her farm[…]comes as fellow Republicans have all but written off her chances of being chosen as Donald Trump’s running mate in November’s presidential election.

2024 May 5, Ramon Antonio Vargas, Edward Helmore, “Kristi Noem defends killing dog: ‘I’m tired of politicians pretending to be what they’re not’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(US politics) A candidate for the US vice-presidency.

ticketmate

political candidate on the same ticket or for US vice-presidency


value voter

(US politics) One who participates in elections and makes decisions based on issues such as religion, abortion, capital punishment and same-sex marriage.


Bidet

That's Joe Bidet.

1995 June 29, DDuchaine, “Steriods& Alzado”, in misc.fitness (Usenet):

Every minute it continues, it makes the aftermath problems more frightening to me," said Sen. Joe "Buckwheat" Bidet, Democrapic Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. Speaking to the Council on Foreign Relations, a leftist group of foreign policy wonks, Bidet said he feels that a little careful bombing might be needed to help protect U.S. Special Forces operations, but it creates a scary problem. Bidet stressed that, like most Democratic weenies, he is afraid to challenge President Bush - but the "honeymoon' might get rockier soon."

2001 October 25, Crusader, “Steriods& Alzado”, in alt.politics (Usenet):

If Obama chose Joe Robinet Bidet for a running mate, he's not just covering his ass, he's cleaning it!

2008 August 25, Dennis, “it's Biden”, in sci.military.naval (Usenet):

Trump calls Biden (Joe BIDET) 'another low I.Q. individual' after 2020.

2019 March 18, allise...@gmail.com, “Hey Fred ! ! ! Here's you another song to enjoy ...”, in rec.radio.shortwave (Usenet):

Kamala Harris became the first woman to be given presidential powers on Friday as Joe Biden briefly transferred authority while he underwent a colonoscopy. Whether he's shitting his pants or farting on royalty, the *fake* president is usually causing a stink. Now they're even shoving cameras up his arse to prove it can talk.

2021 November 20, The Genetically Unmodified Paul Pot (Still a natural human being as God created), “Stinky Joe Bidet undergoes colonoscopy”, in alt.sports.soccer.manchester.united (Usenet):

(Internet slang, US politics, derogatory, humorous) Joe Biden.


SG

Although Supergirl fans will relish page 4, I believe the first panel of 5 says it all: after a full force ramming by SG, PG just casually tosses her into a wall. Now *that's* Power Girl.

1997 October 25, Lightning, “REVIEW Power Girl #1, uhm, I mean Supergirl #16”, in rec.arts.comics.dc.universe (Usenet), message-ID <62tta5$a7g$1@206.230.70.77>:

Actually, a point could be made that the animated Supergirl is much more like Power Girl than the pre Crisis Supergirl.
For one thing she adopted the name Karen (Karen Starr was the name Kara Zor-L created), also she wears PG's costume colors and has a strong resentment toward's Clark's overprotectiveness. The only difference is that the animated SG has the Kara Zor-El personality more than she does Power Girl's.

1998 May 6, CaptT...@webtv.net, “Re: Why is TV kind of pre-Crisis and comics Post-Crisis”, in rec.arts.comics.dc.universe (Usenet), message-ID <6iouoe$1jf$1@newsd-134.iap.bryant.webtv.net>:

I kinda hate how they made Power Girl (Kara/SG pre-Crisis on World 2 or 3?) evil and a clone of SG. One of my fav comics growing up was Supes, and PG and I think Green Arrow going after Vandal Savage.

2005 September 21, tan...@bellsouth.net, “Re: JLU - WOW”, in alt.tv.cartoon-network (Usenet), message-ID <SL7Ye.4284$xg3.1881@bignews4.bellsouth.net>:

(comics) Initialism of Super Girl (“DC Comics superheroine”).


Super Tuesday

(US politics) The day in February or March on which a large number of states hold their primary elections for the process of nominating presidential candidates.


faithless elector

faithless elector (plural faithless electors)

(US politics) A delegate selected to participate in an electoral college and assigned to a particular candidate who votes for a different candidate, usually to protest the already-determined outcome of the vote.


Reaganite

en-adj

Reaganite (comparative more Reaganite, superlative most Reaganite)

more Reaganite (comparative)
most Reaganite (superlative)

/ˈɹeɪɡənaɪt/

This is a show about light and dark, and as deftly as it mimics the glaring neon of Reaganite consumer culture, it tweaks the conspiracy theories blooming in the shadows.

2019 July 4, Sophie Gilbert, “The American Paranoia of Stranger Things 3”, in The Atlantic:

(US politics) Of or pertaining to Ronald Reagan (1911–2004), 40th president of the United States (1981–1989).


Reaganite

/ˈɹeɪɡənaɪt/

(US politics) A supporter of Ronald Reagan (1911–2004), 40th president of the United States (1981–1989), and/or policies that he endorsed.


DEM

Democratic Party
w:Democratic Party (United States)

(US politics) Abbreviation of Democratic Party.


death tax

(US politics, derogatory, dysphemistic) inheritance tax


LBJ

I got a letter from L.B.J,
it said, "This is your lucky day",
it's time to put your khaki trousers on.

1965, “Lyndon Johnson Told the Nation”, Tom Paxton (lyrics), Tom Paxton (music):

This required a legislative program, the Great Society, that would complete the New Deal and earn LBJ a place alongside FDR in the pantheon of heroic Democratic reformers.

2022, Gary Gerstle, chapter 2, in The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order […] , New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, Part I. The New Deal Order, 1930–1980:

Lyndon Baines Johnson
w:Lyndon B. Johnson

(US politics) Initialism of Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th US president.


CRP

The only major source whom the reporters reveal by name is Hugh Sloan, the slight young Nixon operative who resigned as treasurer of the Committee to Re-Elect the President when he learned of C.R.P.’s sordid political involvements. Sloan led the reporters onto the fact that funds for the burglary came from C.R.P.

1974 April 22, “The Press: Woodstein Meets Deep Throat”, in Time, →ISSN:

(historical, US politics) Initialism of Committee to Re-elect the President, which raised money for Richard Nixon's campaign for 1972 reelection.


Old West

It can well be imagined what disaster could descend upon a camping party in a wilderness such as the Old West, amidst the enemies which that wilderness supported.

1918, Stewart Edward White, chapter 5, in The Forty-Niners:

In the Old West—anyway in the old westerns—morality and mechanics went gun-in-hand.

2005 September 18, Richard Corliss, “Movies: Sticking to Their Guns”, in Time:

(historical) The western part of the United States during the 19th-century era of expansion and settlement.


South Park

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-South Park.wav

A high intermontane grassland basin in Park County, in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado.

(fiction) A small fictional snow-capped mountainous Colorado town, the setting of the adult animated sitcom South Park.


Democratic

The most recent Democratic president of the United States is Joe Biden.

(US politics) Of, pertaining to, or supporting the Democratic Party.


Disneyfy

en-verb

Disneyfy (third-person singular simple present Disneyfies, present participle Disneyfying, simple past and past participle Disneyfied)

Disneyfies (present singular third-person)
Disneyfying (participle present)
Disneyfied (participle past)
Disneyfied (past)

From Disney + -fy, with reference to the Disney theme parks.

Jazz was not always an accepted music, and, of course, today we have the problem of remaining faithful to the cultural roots of jazz, not just candifying, Disneyfying the music.

1994, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Subcommittee on Public Lands, National Parks, and Forests, Workshop and hearing on New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park:

Frieze has become a corporate snooze. Have the galleries been actively encouraged by its big-business owners to Disneyfy themselves?

2023 October 11, Jonathan Jones, “Frieze London art fair review – a graveyard of creativity for tasteless one percenters”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(transitive, usually derogatory) To make something (especially a location) more acceptable or marketable by removing potentially distasteful, controversial or boring elements, particularly at the cost of its history and culture.


MTFBWY

may the Force be with you
may the Force be with you#English

(text messaging) Initialism of may the Force be with you.


Jim Crow law

From the song Jump Jim Crow (c. 1830) which mockingly portrayed African-Americans. It became a generic term for African-Americans in the early- to mid-19th century.

(US, historical) Any law that racially segregated public facilities and which was enacted in Southern and border states in the United States between 1876 and 1965.


SEATO

Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
w:Southeast Asia Treaty Organization

(historical) Initialism of Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, in existence from 1955 to 1977.


bat phone

From bat- + phone, after Commissioner Gordon's secure line to the Batphone in the 1960s-era Batman television show.

(informal) A telephone that has a direct connection to an important caller, or is only used for important calls


Pathet Lao

From Lao ປະເທດລາວ (pa thēt lāo), from ປະເທດ (pa thēt, “country, state”) + ລາວ (lāo, “Lao”).

A communist nationalist movement and political party in Laos, which took power in 1975 after a civil war.


Obama

Translingual: Obamadon, Obamus, Etheostoma obama (spangled darter), Tosanoides obama, Caloplaca obamae (Obama lichen)

Corruption of by-name Luo Mobam (“born with a crooked back”), itself from Luo obam (“to lean or bend”).

(The Browns gave the Obamas an ornate penholder made from the timber of a Victorian antislave ship.)

2009 March 4, Helene Cooper, “Obama’s Star Turn at Summit Gets Mixed Results”, in The New York Times:

From his studies of these thinkers and activists, Mr. Obama took what he called the “Niebuhrian” lesson that we can have “a cleareyed view of the world and the realities of cruelty and sin and greed and violence, and yet, still maintain a sense of hope and possibility, as an act of will and leap of faith.”

2020 December 8, Michiko Kakutani, “Obama, the Best-Selling Author, on Reading, Writing and Radical Empathy”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

Barack Obama, 44th president of the United States of America.


OSI

More recently the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Special Investigations (OSI), which is responsible for prosecuting Nazis and collaborators alleged to have entered this country illegally, closed out an investigation of Poppe’s immigration to the United States without bringing any charges against him. This action was taken in part because the OSI determined that Poppe had disclosed his relationship with the SS to U.S. intelligence prior to his immigration, thus making it highly unlikely that the OSI could successfully prosecute Poppe for illegal entry into the United States.

2014, Christopher Simpson, “nine”, in Mark Crispin Miller, editor, Blowback: America’s Recruitment of Nazis and Its Destructive Impact on Our Domestic and Foreign Policy, New York: Open Road Media, published 1988, →ISBN, page 85:

Office of Special Investigations
w:Office of Special Investigations

(US politics) Initialism of Office of Special Investigations.


Republicrat

This hybrid voting behavior may be called "Republicrat", and obviously it must depress Republicanism in Southern congressional, state, and local politics.

1966, Allan P. Sindler, Political Parties in the United States, page 70:

(US politics, derogatory) A United States politician who is a member of one of the two major political parties (Democrat and Republican), but frequently votes with the other party.

We need to make people understand that decisions being made on local levels are often far more influential in our lives and probably the only real way — unless we're able to radically change the way our one-party Republicrat system works — to make change.

2001, Daniel Sinker, We Owe You Nothing: Punk Planet : the Collected Interviews, page 290:

Both wings of the ruling "Republicrat" Party try to outdo themselves in announcing new, ever more draconian measures to restrict, repress, restrain, and eliminate the poor.

2004, Howard Zinn, Anthony Arnove, Voices of a People's History of the United States, page 567:

Rather, we have a single Republicrat party of greedy, self-serving, amoral, power-driven professional politicians...

2005, Holliston Perni, A Heritage of Hypocrisy: Why 'They' Hate Us, page 4:

(US politics, derogatory, attributive) The two-party system, characterized as a single organization that excludes the participation and views of third parties.


Tin Man

The Tin Woodman, a metallic character in the fictional Land of Oz who travels with Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion to the Emerald City in search of a heart.


yellow dog

Carolina dogs were called yellow dogs because many had yellow coats. The fact that many mongrel dogs also had yellow coats lead to the term's application to any worthless item or person. For the etymology of the term Yellow Dog Democrat, see that entry.

What led Rick Perry to pronounce the Yellow Dogs dead?

2011, William Earl Maxwell, Ernest Crain, Adolfo Santos, Texas Politics Today: 2011-2012 Edition, page 125:

Yellow Dog Democrat
Yellow Dog Democrat#English

(US politics, uncommon) Short for Yellow Dog Democrat.

Yellow Dog

Carolina dog; Yellow Dog Democrat; especially the senses and


Pickett's charge

en-noun

Pickett's charge (plural Pickett's charges)

A reference to an event during the American Civil War, wherein 16,000 Confederate infantrymen attacked Union positions; the attack failed, with several thousand Confederate casualties.


Uncle Scrooge

From a Disney character, named in reference to Charles Dickens' fictional miser Ebenezer Scrooge.

It is an anomaly of our times that an Uncle Sam spending at a rate of some $128 billion yearly should become an Uncle Scrooge in the treatment of government workers!

1967, Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, “Federal Pay Legislation: Hearings, Ninetieth Congress, first session”, in parliamentary debates, U.S. Congress, page 282:


Haumea

From Hawaiian hau (“ruler”) (archaic) + mea (“reddish brown”), "red ruler".

(Hawaiian mythology) The goddess of fertility and childbirth.


Rovian

en-adj

Rovian (comparative more Rovian, superlative most Rovian)

more Rovian (comparative)
most Rovian (superlative)

There is something called a “Rovian” style of campaigning, and it's meant as an insult. President Barack Obama said many times during the campaign that he wanted to end “the Karl Rove era of politics.”

2010, Karl Rove, Courage and Consequence […] , Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 64:

The misdeeds were many, and he was known by all who knew him to be a ridiculous man, but this new plan was too much, was Caligulian, Roveian, and she had no obligation to cooperate.

2016, Dave Eggers, Heroes of the Frontier, Penguin UK, →ISBN:

Of or pertaining to the political theory that a lie told often enough will be accepted as the truth, and that the truth is no longer relevant to democratic politics.


Solid South

(US politics, historical) The electoral support of the Southern United States for Democratic Party candidates for nearly a century from 1877, the end of the Reconstruction, to 1964.


Disneyana

items related to The Walt Disney Company, especially collectibles.


favorite son

(US politics) A male candidate chosen by a state delegation for an initial ballot, in the knowledge that other delegations will not prefer this candidate, for the purpose of negotiation.


convention bump

en-noun

convention bump (plural convention bumps)

(US politics) The rise in support (as shown in polls) a presidential candidate receives after the national party nominating convention.


Election Day

Voters returned nearly 64 million mail-in ballots before Election Day, a pandemic-driven record that is certain to make for a more complicated vote count this year but could also reshape American elections for years to come.

2020 November 3, Stephanie Saul, Danny Hakim, “As Counting Begins, a Flood of Mail Ballots Complicates Vote Tallies”, in New York Times:

(US politics, specifically) The day on which general elections are held in the United States, usually the Tuesday following the first Monday in November.


Obamanomics

Blend of Obama + economics, equivalent to Obama + -nomics. See Related terms below.

(US politics, economics, neologism) The economic policies of Barack Obama.


Nixonomics

Blend of Nixon + economics, equivalent to Nixon + -nomics. Coined in a speech of the same title by Walter Heller in October 1969. This is believed to be the first such term coined by blending a president's surname with the word "economics." http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CEEDB153AF932A35752C1A964958260 Similar blends have been used to describe the economic policies of all subsequent US presidents, though Fordonomics is rare.

Senators William Proxmire and Hubert Humphrey, among others, hinted that the new Nixonomics may be due for some design changes when it reaches the Senate.

1971 September 6, “Nixon's Freeze and the Mood of Labor”, in Time Magazine, archived from the original on 2008-12-21:

(US politics) The economic policies of the Richard Nixon administration, 1969-1974.


Clintonomics

Blend of Clinton + economics, equivalent to Clinton + -nomics.

But I am not yet persuaded that Clintonomics will make much of a dent in the persistent problems of unemployment in the U.S. economy.

1992 December 6, David M. Gordon, “Clinton May Fall Short on Easing Unemployment”, in Los Angeles Times, archived from the original on 2013-06-30, page D2:

(US politics) The economic policies associated with the administration of William Jefferson Clinton, 1993–2001.


Carternomics

Blend of Carter + economics, equivalent to Carter + -nomics.

Carternomics stimulates the economy to reduce unemployment and help the "old" poor, while it causes runaway inflation that creates legions of the new poor.

1978 June 1, William Safire, “The New Poor”, in The New York Times:

Mr. Bush's return to Carternomics killed the Reagan boom, resulting in higher unemployment, lower incomes and higher deficits.

1993 October 31, “Taxing the patience in Jersey election”, in The Washington Times:

(US politics, often derogatory) Economic policies associated with the administration of Jimmy Carter, 1977–1981.


McCainiac

And, as Bush learned painfully, there are plenty of McCainiacs in pivotal Michigan.

2000 March 2, “After Primaries, Focus Turns to the Vice Presidential Slot”, in Philadelphia Inquirer, page A1:

The McCainiacs are warning John McCain's conservative opponents that unless they stop criticizing their candidate immediately, he'll never recover in time for the general election.

2008 February 18, David Limbaugh, “Grassroots hurdle?”, in Washington Times:

(US politics, informal) An ardent follower or supporter of John McCain in his campaigns for the presidency in 2000 and 2008.


Bushonomics

Blend of Bush + economics, equivalent to Bush + -o- + -nomics.

Ross Perot's advisers suggest he may push a much bolder plan, investing hundreds of billions in infrastructure; but until he delivers, Clinton clearly occupies the high ground against Bushonomics.

1992 July 8, David Gergen, “Democrats' 'Comeback Kid' Revels in Latest Returns”, in Rocky Mountain News:

(US politics) The economic policies associated with the presidency of George Herbert Walker Bush, 1989–1993.

According to the Democratic nominee, Bushonomics would "squander" the surplus.

2000 August 18, Richard S. Dunham, “Battlin' Al Comes Out Swinging”, in Business Week:

(US politics) The economic policies associated with the presidency of George W. Bush, 2001–2009.


fusionism

But it means being open to the possibility that the old fusionism, battered and bruised as it is, may still hold as much promise for the advancement of libertarian policy goals as "liberaltarianism" ever will.

2009 February 13, Ross Douthat, “The Future of Liberaltarianism (II)”, in The Atlantic:

(chiefly US politics) A political philosophy advocating fusion of traditionalist social conservatism with right-libertarianism.


spinmeister

From spin (“favourable comment or interpretation intended to bias opinion on an otherwise unpleasant situation”) + -meister.

affix

Republican spinmeisters were quick to offer their opinions last week on Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess' decision not to challenge Portsmouth lawyer Paul McEachern for the Democratic nomination for governor.

1988, Laura A. Kiernan, “...And Then There Was One”, in The Boston Globe:

The reporting on Al Gore’s selection of Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman to be his running mate illustrates yet again the willingness of America’s dominant liberal media to accept without question the tales woven by Democratic spinmeisters.

2000 August 9, James Young, “The ‘conscience’ of the Senate”, in Potomac News, volume 41, number 320, Woodbridge, Va., page A6:

(US politics, slang) A media liaison or spokesperson, charged with presenting the spin for their political side.


overvote

An overvote that took the form of punching Gore's chad and then writing his name (or Lieberman's) in the place for a write-in candidate would unambiguously manifest the voter's intention to vote for Gore.

2001, Richard A. Posner, Breaking the Deadlock, →ISBN, page 78:

(US politics) A case in which a voter has marked a ballot for more choices than allowed by the rules


overvote

en-verb

overvote (third-person singular simple present overvotes, present participle overvoting, simple past and past participle overvoted)

overvotes (present singular third-person)
overvoting (participle present)
overvoted (participle past)
overvoted (past)

[…] a poll worker can manually override the program and accept the ballot, even though it has been overvoted or undervoted.

2005, United States Government Accountability Office, Elections, →ISBN, page 10:

(US politics) To spoil a ballot by marking it for more choices than allowed by the rules


sneed

From a 1999 Simpsons episode, "E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)" featuring a farming supply store, "Sneed's Feed & Seed", from the English surname Sneed; the joke is that the sign says the shop was "Formerly Chuck's", implying it formerly rhymed with Chuck instead ("Chuck's Fuck and Suck"). The sign became a meme on the image board 4chan around 2012. It came to be used as a substitute for seethe (e.g. in the phrase "cope and seethe" → "cope and sneed"), then (as a noun) became synonymous with beta males when 4chan started automatically changing soyboy to sneed..

He then told me to "Seethe, cope and dilate you sneed."

2021 October 28, “What is the deal with sneed, cope and dilate?”, in Reddit, r/NoStupidQuestions:

(Internet slang) One who seethes; a soyboy.


IRBM

intermediate-range ballistic missile
w:intermediate-range ballistic missile

(weaponry) Initialism of intermediate-range ballistic missile.


New Democrat

(US politics) A member of the New Democrats centrist faction of the American Democratic Party.


friend of Dorothy

en-noun

friend of Dorothy (plural friends of Dorothy)

Commonly thought to refer to Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (1939), portrayed by gay icon Judy Garland; alternatively (or additionally) it could be a reference to writer Dorothy Parker, who was friends with many gay men.

He's a disco-dancing, Oscar Wilde-reading, Streisand ticket-holding friend of Dorothy, know what I'm saying?

1995, Amy Heckerling, Clueless, spoken by Murray (Donald Faison):

(slang, dated, euphemistic) A homosexual man.

Dorothy Parker
Judy Garland
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)


Obamamania

Obamamania sweeps the nation as millions of voters find themselves deeply impressed by Obama's views, and the fact that he was on Oprah.

2007, Dave Barry, Dave Barry's History of the Millennium (So Far), G. P. Putnam's Sons, →ISBN, page 197:

(US politics, neologism) Fervent admiration of Barack Obama.


midnight regulation

midnight regulation (plural midnight regulations)

(US politics) A law introduced by an outgoing administration in the period between the election and inauguration of the new president.


Liebercrat

Blend of Lieberman + Democrat, from Joseph Lieberman, a US Senator from Connecticut who left the Democratic Party after being defeated in the party primary in 2006.

JMS, you really need to figure out who you support. I seem to recall you giving a thumbs-up to McCain, but you now seem to come across as a Liebercrat - a decent person who has been corrupted by Clinton/Gore.

2000 December 18, Sean Ormond, “Re: OK, I'm expecting an announcement about the formation of”, in rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated (Usenet):

As result, Mr. Lambert is being called a "Liebercrat" after Sen. Joe Lieberman, of Connecticut, who won re-election as an independent after losing in the 2006 Democratic primary to Ned Lamont.

2007 March 21, Seth McLaughlin, “Virginia Democrat faces blog ire for Allen support”, in Washington Times, archived from the original on 2010-07-02:

The protesters referred to Amann as an "arrogant Liebercrat," noting that he voted against civil unions and calling him a DINO, a "Democrat in name only."

2008 January 31, Frank Juliano, “Amann officially wants to be governor”, in Connecticut Post:

(US politics slang) A Democrat whose politics resemble those of Joseph Lieberman; in recent use, often specifically a Democrat who acts like a Republican


Homer Simpson

Name of an amiable but stupid character who gorges on beer and doughnuts in the long-running animated television series The Simpsons, said to be named after a character in Nathanael West's novel The Day of the Locust (1939).

A few months of this torture, and even the finest treads may begin to resemble a donut with a Homer Simpson-size bite out of it.

2001, Brent Peterson, The Complete Idiot's Guide to RVing:

Find out if you owe birth to an Albert Einstein or a Homer Simpson!

2002 December, Weekly World News, volume 24, number 16:

Sample insults calling the recipient a slut, a bookworm, bucktoothed; characterizing them as having a "Homer Simpson gut," a crooked ponytail...

2004, Serge P Shohov, Frank H Columbus, Advances in Psychology Research:

I struggle to remember even a Homer-Simpson handful of them, even those that arose from my own fevered keyboard.

2005, Tony Carlson, The How of WOW: A Guide to Giving a Speech that Will Positively Blow 'em Away:

One of the employees, apparently a Homer Simpson prototype, "goosed" the man...

A person who is foolish, easily distracted, and/or gluttonous.


holodeck

From holo- + deck, coined in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.

[…] the fact that science-fiction film, and indeed much — if not most — contemporary film, has become a technology on the way to somewhere else, whether that goal turns out to be immersive, interactive, or some holodeck-style fusion of the two.

1999, Annette Kuhn, Alien Zone II: The Spaces of Science-fiction Cinema:

Computer music might someday replace acoustic music made by human beings, but that time is far away, waiting either for Holodecks to be perfected or for a generation of listeners to arrive who are too busy and too uninvolved with their ambient surroundings to want to relate to them[.]

1999 June, Al Stevens, “Jukebox: Covering the Basses”, in Dr. Dobb's Journal, volume 24, number 6, San Francisco, Calif.: Miller Freeman, Inc., →ISSN, page 115:

Building a holodeck will require breakthroughs in sensors, robotics, and mechanical interfaces […]

2002, Kay M Stanney, Handbook of virtual environments:

In such a world, would one want to be hooked up to a pleasure machine or live on a holodeck?

2007, Fritz Allhoff, Patrick Lin, James Moor, Nanoethics:

(science fiction) A room that provides holographic simulations for recreation, training, etc.


Great Depression

For the first time since the Great Depression, median family income has fallen substantially over an entire decade. Income grew slowly through most of the last decade, except at the top of the distribution, before falling sharply when the financial crisis began.

2012 October 24, David Leonhardt, “Standard of Living Is in the Shadows as Election Issue”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(economics, business, finance, historical) A major economic collapse characterized by mass unemployment and limited business activity that lasted from 1929 to 1940 in the US and a similar period in many other countries.


DLC

The DLC also proclaimed its desire to move the Democratic Party closer to Republican positions on questions of social policy and moral traditionalism.

2022, Gary Gerstle, chapter 4, in The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order […] , New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, Part II. The Neoliberal Order, 1970–2020:

Democratic Leadership Council
w:Democratic Leadership Council

(US politics, historical, 1985–2011) Initialism of Democratic Leadership Council.


dominionism

A tendency among some conservative Christians, especially in the USA, to seek influence or control over secular civil government through political action.


Hiʻiaka

When Hi‘iaka, Lohi‘au, and her companion began their return trip, the forty days allowed by Pele had passed. Most of Hi‘iaka’s chants during the homeward journey have a recurrent refrain of sorrow, for by now she had a vision of Pele’s treachery.

1989, Rita Knipe, The Water of Life: A Jungian Journey through Hawaiian Myth, University of Hawaii Press, page 146:

1989, Hi‘iaka, entry in Robert D. Craig, Dictionary of Polynesian Mythology, Bloomsbury Publishing, page 60,
Once there, Hi‘iaka learned that Lohi‘au had died out of grief for the woman (Pele) who had danced before him. Hi‘iaka was able to restore his spirit and life. Now they had [to] face the return voyage, and already the forty days had passed.

2015 [2008 M. E. Sharpe], Josepha Sherman, Storytelling: An Encyclopedia of Mythology and Folklore, Taylor & Francis (Routledge), unnumbered page,
Hi‘iaka and Pele had several sisters, all of whom shared the name Hi‘iaka followed by a different description. The other sisters always used their full names unless grouped together, as in "the Hi‘iaka sisters." Only Hi‘iaka-i-kapoli-’o-Pele individually shortened her name to Hi‘iaka.

(Hawaiian mythology) Any of the twelve sisters of the volcano goddess Pele, especially the youngest, whom Pele was given to raise.


Pele

Some versions of the Pele myth say that Pele was always fighting with her sister. To separate them, their father exiled Pele to Hawaii.

2012, Jim Ollhoff, South Pacific Mythology, ABDO Publishing Company, page 28:

Later the island was visited by Christian missionaries, and a number of Hawaiians converted to Christianity. Nevertheless, Pele was not forgotten, nor was worship of Pele discontinued. Pele remained a powerful goddess in the eyes of native Hawaiians because of her ongoing unpredictable eruptions that both created and destroyed. Even in modern times, Pele is a feature of Hawaii.

2021, David Seal, Sharon K. Smith, World Mythology, Wipf and Stock, page 190:

(Hawaiian mythology) The Hawaiian goddess of fire and volcanos.


Simps

2000, TomServo, “Twin Peaks spoof in Simps!”, in alt.tv.simpsons (Usenet):

(fandom slang) The television program The Simpsons.


Bushist

A supporter of George W. Bush, or advocate of his policies.


Comecon

w:Council for Mutual Economic Assistance

(historical) Abbreviation of Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, a multinational economic organization that existed in the Eastern Bloc from 1949 to 1991.


may the Force be with you

From the Star Wars film franchise, in which "the Force" is an omnipresent energy that can influence events and may be harnessed by gifted individuals.

What thoughts are you sending into the universe? Are they seeking the results you want, or are they attracting the things you don’t? The mental sharks will be drawn to you as surely as the results you desire. To be certain, be aware of the messages you are sending, and may the Force be with you, whatever you conceive it to be!

2007, Layton Park, Get Out of Your Way: Unlocking the Power of Your Mind to Get What You Want, 1st edition, Woodbury, Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 87:

(idiomatic) Used to wish someone luck with a difficult endeavor.


esquilax

Coined in a 1995 episode of the animated TV show The Simpsons named "Lisa's Wedding", in which a Renaissance fair sideshow falsely promotes a normal rabbit as "a horse with the head of a rabbit and the body of a rabbit".
Possibly inspired by fanciful names for creatures from Medieval Latin (e.g. basilisk, cockatrice).

Yeah, well I get to run the Circus Sideshow, and the esquilaxes.

1997, Powdered TOAST Man, “TAN: The Weasel Strikes Back”, in aus.tv.x-files (Usenet):

In fact, I am also "really weakly omnipotent," because it is logically impossible for me to fly unaided, or transform myself into an esquilax, because I am a being who cannot do those things. But I can do anything which it is logically possible for me to do.

1999, Cabrutus, “is lack of evidence a reason to lack belief?”, in alt.atheism (Usenet):

I wasn't thinking of gray elephants in Denmark, I was thinking of white esquilaxes in the Domincan ^([sic]) Republic.

2001, Anonymous Weirdo, “Have a rest”, in sk.forsale (Usenet):

Could be worse... couldve ^([sic]) been an Esquilax.

2008, Jeßus, “Found some Hydrox”, in rec.food.cooking (Usenet):


birther

From birth + -er (agent noun suffix) or + -er (“supporter”).

I confess I do have some sympathy for the "birthers," though. As an outsider, it's hard to distinguish between the zany arguments that get official approval by the conservative establishment --- things like Bill Ayers, Michelle Obama's infamous "whitey" tape, the claim that Obama is a closet Marxist --- and those arguments that are considered beyond the pale.

2008 December 8, Jay Bookman, “Shut up about the birth certificate”, in Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Senator Dick Durbin has suggested that the birthers and the health care protesters are one and the same; we don’t know how many of the protesters are birthers, but it wouldn’t be surprising if it’s a substantial fraction.

2009 August 7, Paul Krugman, “The Town Hall Mob”, in New York Times:

Earlier this month, columnist and birther Frank Gaffney, Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., the ranking Republican on the Intelligence Committee, and others held a news conference on Capitol Hill to release a report on Muslim religious law entitled "Shariah: The Threat to America."

2010 September 29, Mark Benjamin, “What Islamophobia really threatens”, in Salon:

(slang, derogatory, US politics) A believer in the conspiracy theory that Barack Obama, 44th president of the United States (2009–2017), is not a natural-born US citizen, and was therefore ineligible for the presidency under the United States Constitution (Article II, Section 1).

«рожде́нец»

(slang, derogatory, US politics) A believer in the conspiracy theory that Barack Obama, 44th president of the United States (2009-2017), was not born in that country, and therefore ineligible for presidency due to national law

[see title]

2020 August 13, Franco Ordoñez, “Trump and His Campaign Amplify Birther Conspiracy Against Kamala Harris”, in NPR:

On Thursday, he started floating a new birther lie about Sen. Kamala Harris, who, if elected, would be the first Black and Asian American vice president.

2020 August 13, Daniel Dale, Holmes Lybrand, Tara Subramaniam, CNN:

(slang, derogatory, US politics) More generally, anyone who questions the eligibility of a candidate for office based on their citizenship status.


birther

en-verb

birther (third-person singular simple present birthers, present participle birthering, simple past and past participle birthered)

birthers (present singular third-person)
birthering (participle present)
birthered (participle past)
birthered (past)

2020, Andrew Solender, “'He Wasn't Born Here': Trump Birthers Biden Near Scranton Ahead Of DNC Acceptance Speech”, in Forbes:

(slang, derogatory, US politics) To question the eligibility of a candidate for office or the location of one's birth.


Flash

(DC Comics) Any of various DC Comics superheroes who have the power of superspeed, derived from an energy called the Speed Force.


Warsaw Pact

The Warsaw Pact formalized Moscow's dominance in Europe's east.

(historical) A pact (long-term alliance treaty) signed on May 14, 1955 in Warsaw by the Soviet Union and its Communist military allies in Europe.


act of Congress

en-noun

act of Congress (plural acts of Congress)

From the literal sense of act (“legislation”) enacted by US Congress.

(literally, US politics) A statute enacted by the United States Congress.


political machine

political machine (plural political machines)

They had no authority beyond that; for the inspection of meat to be sold in the city and state the whole force in Packingtown consisted of three henchmen of the local political machine!

1905 April–October, Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1906 February 26, →OCLC:

You have my word for it, sir. And the reason for it is that this hideous traffic is one of the main cogs in our political machine. The pimps and the panders, the cadets and maquereaux… they vote the ticket of the organization; they contribute to the campaign funds; they serve as colonizers and repeaters at the polls.

After all the discussion of the Kerner commission's report on urban problems, I've yet to hear a word concerning the consistency with which the ghetto population votes for the political machine that has abused it for so many years.

1968 March 30, Joseph A. Shea, “Letters to the Editor: Ghetto Vote for Political Machine”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

But the data was not forthcoming. It was hidden, which ended up serving the interests of the lobby group that dumped more than $2m into Cuomo’s political machine. That machine is now being deployed to vilify Kim, Biaggi and other Democrats who dare to demand answers about their constituents who were killed by Covid.

2021 February 18, David Sirota, “Cuomo-gate: a Nixonian scandal is engulfing New York”, in The Guardian, retrieved 2021-12-14:

(US politics, chiefly historical) A local political organization or individual politician that controls a large number of personal votes and can therefore exert political influence, and is therefore often viewed as scandalous.


Gorbachev

Transliteration of Russian Горбачёв (Gorbačóv), usually written Горбаче́в (Gorbačév) (see note about Russian letter ё (jo)), from горба́ч (gorbáč, “hunchback”).

transliteration

Mikhail Gorbachev was the last General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Горбачёв Горбачёв#Russian

A transliteration of the Russian surname Горбачёв (Gorbačóv).


antibusing

en-adj

antibusing (comparative more antibusing, superlative most antibusing)

more antibusing (comparative)
most antibusing (superlative)

In years following, local schools were shaken by angry antibusing protests.

1990 April 6, Ben Joravsky, “The next hot neighborhood is . . . the southwest side?”, in Chicago Reader:

(US politics) Opposing the use of busing to achieve racial integration in schools.


Blue Dog

Various, including the presence of the "Blue Dog" paintings of Louisiana artist George Rodrigue in the offices of Louisiana representatives where early meetings were held.

(US politics) A member of the Blue Dog Coalition, founded in 1994, of conservative and moderate members of the Democratic Party.


Talibaptist

Blend of Taliban + Baptist, from the hardline tactics of the former group and the traditionalism of the latter.

(slang, derogatory, chiefly US) A fundamentalist Christian.


Reaganesque

Reaganesque (comparative more Reaganesque, superlative most Reaganesque)

more Reaganesque (comparative)
most Reaganesque (superlative)

The problem with those who denounce Reaganesque Big Tentism is twofold.

2010 February 25, Mark A. Isaacson, “Beck, Party of One”, in The Harvard Crimson:

Reminiscent of Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911–2004), 40th president of the United States (1981–1989) and 33rd governor of California (1967–1975), or his policies.


Closetgate

From closet + -gate; from the name of the South Park television episode "Trapped in the Closet" (referring to the figurative "closet" that homosexuals who have not disclosed their sexual orientation are said to be in).

Closetgate is heating up! Paramount has joined Tom Cruise's public relations rep in denying reports that the movie star strong-armed the studio into spiking a "South Park" episode that ridicules him and Scientology.

2006 March 18, Scott Collins, “Clamor outside `South Park' closet”, in Los Angeles Times:

The Los Angeles Times dubbed the flap Closetgate. "For Stone and Parker, Closetgate will be the gift that keeps on giving," it said.

2006 March 19, David Usborne, “South Park declares war on Tom Cruise”, in The Independent:

Viacom says it's dropping actor Tom Cruise for his strange behaviour. You fans will remember the South Park 'Closetgate' episode and 'couch incident' on the popular talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show of May 23, 2005.

2006 August 23, Anu Anand, “Congo, Iran & Tom Cruise”, in BBC World Service:

Dubbed Closetgate, Comedy Central, a network owned by Viacom, pulled a rerun of this Emmy-nominated episode, supposedly under pressure from Tom Cruise, who threatened to bail out of promoting his upcoming film "Mission: Impossible III," which was being released by Paramount, a division of Viacom.

2009, David Lake, “The 10 Most Controversial 'South Park' Episodes”, in MSN TV, archived from the original on 2009-04-06:

Matt Stone and Trey Parker – the show’s fearless creators – were not afraid to call out Cruise on his power play – being dubbed “Closetgate” by The L.A. Times – even taking out ads, proclaiming tongue-in-cheek that they themselves were "servants of Xenu" and that the "million-year war for Earth" had only just begun, presumably now that their show had been screwed with backdoor deals.

2009, “Tom Cruise - Biography”, in Turner Classic Movies:

Loony toon ... Controversy erupted in March over a South Park episode that made light of Tom's religion, Scientology. The LA Times dubbed it "Closetgate" as Comedy Central pulled the episode at the last minute.

2009, “Off-screen antics cost Cruise”, in Herald-Sun:

A scandal following the airing of the South Park television episode "Trapped in the Closet", which was a satirical parody of Scientology and Scientologist actor Tom Cruise.


M/S

Initialism from the names Mulder and Scully.

I am a M/S 'Shipper from my brown roots to my red toenails, but PMP was in NO WAY "Shippey."

1997 December 2, Gertie "the Bimbo" Beth, “PMP Fantasy (see the ep for what it really is...)”, in alt.tv.x-files (Usenet):

Does this mean that I'm going to be getting spoiled on M/S fic from you as well now? :-D

1998 June 22, StarGzrCMC, “Re: NEW: Heaven Is Here (movie fic) 01/01”, in alt.tv.x-files.creative (Usenet):

Ok, being a M/S shipper is kinda hard now without Mulder around.

2001 December 8, Jewlz!, “Re: XF Controversies”, in alt.tv.x-files (Usenet):

(fandom slang) The ship of characters Fox Mulder and Dana Scully from the television series The X-Files.


galaxywide

From galaxy + -wide. Coined by American science fiction author Isaac Asimov in 1940 in the form "galaxy-wide".

coin

I immediately assigned an all-out search, Galaxywide.

1949 January, Henry Kuttner, “Time Axis”, in Startling Stories, volume 18, number 3, page 50:

Critics on both sides of what rapidly became a Galaxywide controversy were forced, however, to acknowledge the magnificent playing of the Student Orchestra and its great technical attainments.

1959 June, Larry M. Harris, “Extracts from the Galactick Almanack”, in Galaxy, volume 17, number 5, page 136:

Protoculture supply was dwindling, the galaxywide war running down like clockwork as both sides' resources and infrastructures declined.

1989, Jack McKinney, The End of the Circle, →ISBN, page 203:


Teabagistan

(US politics, slang) An idealized, rural, conservative version of America, as recalled by Tea Party members.


paleoconservative

From paleo- + conservative, by analogy with neoconservative.

Coordinate term: neoconservative

In fact, the neoconservative Moynihan running in New York against the paleoconservative James Buckley was able to position himself as the proper heir to a New Deal liberal tradition that Moynihan had been vigorously criticizing for almost a decade.

1979 February 13, “The Neocons”, in Esquire:

If they are fraying now, it is at least in part due to the prevalence of demagogues who wish to claim that there is only one path to virtuous American-ness: paleoconservatives like Jesse Helms and Pat Robertson who think this country has one single ethic, […].

1992, Robert Hughes, “The Fraying of America”, in Time, archived from the original on 2010-01-03:

As noted earlier, immigration was the issue that sent the open border Right on a search-and-destroy mission against paleoconservatives.

1999, Joseph Scotchie, The Paleoconservatives, page 11:

(US politics) A political conservative who espouses paleoconservatism, opposing mass immigration, embracing states' rights and supporting cultural conservatism and social structures perceived to be traditional.


paleoconservative

en-adj

paleoconservative (comparative more paleoconservative, superlative most paleoconservative)

more paleoconservative (comparative)
most paleoconservative (superlative)

The first of Bannon's ten documentary film pamphlets, In the Face of Evil (2014), still followed a rather classic neoconservative narrative, albeit with a paleoconservative touch.

2019, Jonas Staal, Propaganda Art in the 21st Century, MIT Press, →ISBN, page 101:

In 2013, for instance, Pat Buchanan, a leading voice on the “paleoconservative” traditionalist right, described Putin as “one of us,” an ally in what he saw as the defining struggle of our era,[…]

2022 March 4, Thomas Zimmer, “America’s culture war is spilling into actual war-war”, in The Guardian:

(US politics) Holding views associated with paleoconservatism.

paleokonservativ

holding the views associated with paleoconservatism


eat my shorts

/ˈiːt maɪ ˈʃɔːɹts/

Popularized by the TV series The Simpsons (1989), where it is a catchphrase of Bart Simpson.

Notre Dame boys greeted one another with "Eat It" to be answered by "Eat It Raw" or "Eat a Big One" or "Eat My Shorts," sometimes "Eat My Crusty Shorts."

[1977, James P. Leary, The Boys from the Dome […] , page 69:

Mickey: You could be the biggest fairy of them all!
Meat: Eat my shorts!

1983, Roger Swaybill, Alan Ormsby, Bob Clark, Porky's II: The Next Day (motion picture):

Richard Vernon: You're not fooling anyone, Bender. The next screw that falls out will be you.
 John Bender: Eat my shorts.
Richard Vernon: What was that?
John Bender: Eat... My... Shorts.

1985, John Hughes, The Breakfast Club (motion picture):

Her eyes are telling me, "Eat my shorts, you precocious little fart." I definitely haven't made a friend.

1988, Greg Matthews, The Gold Flake Hydrant, page 232:

For instance, Bart often expresses his irreverence toward authority on "The Simpsons" by exclaiming "Eat my shorts."

[1996, Douglas Rushkoff, Media Virus! […] , page 186:

(idiomatic, chiefly US, vulgar) An irreverent rebuke or dismissal.


MSR

Mars Sample Return mission
w:Mars sample return mission

(space science, US, NASA) Initialism of Mars Sample Return mission.

Although I regard this as a romantic piece, it's not an MSR in the usual sense--our heroes don't ride off into the sunset locked in each other's arms.

1997 April 12, Loch Ness [username], “Letters of Transit (0/14) By Loch Ness”, in alt.tv.x-files.creative (Usenet):

I'm writing an MSR (big surprise there) and I have a scene where M&S do a nice, sensuous slow dance.

2000 March 5, Tim Scott, “Research assistance request”, in alt.tv.x-files.creative (Usenet):

In the last couple of years, it seems like the vast majority of stories posted are MSRs. You rarely see a slash story posted here anymore.

2001 August 4, Circe, “Re: xfc: XFC content changes”, in alt.tv.x-files.creative (Usenet):

(countable, X-Files fandom slang) Mulder/Scully romance; a fanfic involving a romantic relationship between the characters Fox Mulder and Dana Scully of the The X-Files.

I am a shipper, and yes, I prefer to read MSR.

2000 May 8, C. E. McLarney, “Re: NEW: "Remotely Controlled" (1/1) by Marguerite”, in alt.tv.x-files.creative (Usenet):

Although I read MSR occasionally (and at one time did exclusively) the minute I discovered slash I was hooked.

2003 April 14, pjay [username], “slash”, in alt.tv.x-files.creative (Usenet):

Made me want to read MSR again, and I thought I'd finally kicked that habit.

2006 June 12, jzjenn [username], “Paula Graves News”, in alt.tv.x-files.creative (Usenet):

(uncountable, fandom slang) Such fan fiction collectively.


Moral Majority

Coined by conservative activist Paul Weyrich in 1979 and later popularized by televangelist Jerry Falwell.

(US politics) A faction of the US Republican Party whose policies include conservatism on social and personal matters, infusing religion into the American political process.


Goldwater Republican

en-noun

Goldwater Republican (plural Goldwater Republicans)

Dating from 1964 in the United States, the year Barry Goldwater tried unsuccessfully for the office of president.

For months he insisted that he did not want the nomination, would not seek it, and would only reluctantly accept a genuine draft. Despite Scranton's repeated statements, it was behind him that anti-Goldwater Republican leaders late last week tried to rally—and Scranton showed signs of acquiescence.

1964 July 12, “Republicans: The Man on the Bandwagon”, in Time:

"A lot of people who think of themselves as Goldwater Republicans do not know what it really means to be a Goldwater Republican," said Tom Paniccia, a former Air Force sergeant who was discharged from the military last year after he had proclaimed his homosexuality. "He has always had a near libertarian stance on keeping government out of people's lives."

1994 March 24, Timothy Egan, quoting Tom Paniccia, “Goldwater Defending Clinton; Conservatives Feeling Faint”, in The New York Times:

(US politics) A member of the Republican Party whose policies resemble those of Barry Goldwater, including support for the smallest government possible at the federal level, free enterprise, fiscal conservatism, an internationalist, neoconservative, and anti-communist foreign policy, as well as social libertarianism.


Obamunism

Both are interesting choices as poster children for corporate American promoters of Obamunism.

2010, Chris Horner, Power Grab: How Obama's Green Policies Will Steal Your Freedom and Bankrupt America, page 142:

More recently, Patrick Michaels, a longtime critic of climate science and policy scholar at the Cato Institute, criticized plans for a cap and trade system to control greenhouse gases as “Obamunism.”

2010, Naomi Oreskes, Erik M. Conway, Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming, page 253:

It's amusing to listen to the moonbats continue to blame Bush for everything wrong now in the second term of Obamunism.

2013, Jay Kennedy, "Bush admin. had nothing to do with 'fast & furious', look it up" (letter to the editor), The Laconia Daily Star (Laconia, NH), 14 May 2013, page 5

(neologism, derogatory) The economic or political policies of the Obama administration, viewed as socialism, communism, or government overreach.


ObamaCare

/oʊˈbɑ məˌkɛəɹ/

Blend of Obama (“Barack Obama”) + healthcare or Medicare and perhaps influenced by earlier HillaryCare.

blend

For some reason, Obama's senior economist, Austan Goolsbee, chooses not to believe this about Obamacare, possibly because he figures the private-but-regulated health-care plans in Obama's National Health Insurance Exchange would be more generous than Obama's public health-care plan.

2007 July 5, Timothy Noah, “Edwardscare: A Trojan Horse, in Slate Magazine”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):

This is a trick. This is a trick that's going on here. This idea that, that whether it's HillaryCare, or ObamaCare, or EdwardsCare, that idea that it's not socialized medicine is a trick. It's a massive growth in government control of medicine.

2007 September 26, Rudy Giuliani, address to the New Jersey Republican Party (about 12 minutes 30 seconds in)

Those who designed ObamaCare were willing to sacrifice marriage for the sake of seeming to be “progressive and equitable,” even though social science research reveals a clear link between single motherhood and poverty.

2010, Richard McKenzie Neal, We the People: A Christian Nation, page 161:

This book will tell you what is right and wrong with Obamacare and will offer solutions to improve healthcare in our country so that it remains of high quality and sustainable financially in the future for all Americans.

2011, Tony Maglione, Obamacare: A Doctor's Guide to Saving Healthcare:

Of course ObamaCare is socialism. It has been designed along explicitly socialist lines[…]

2011, Kevin Williamson, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Socialism, page 237:

Tonight, for our main story, we’re going to look at Obamacare. Basically, the opposite of this photo which is more “Obama don’t give a fuck”!

2017 March 12, “American Health Care Act”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 4, episode 5, John Oliver (actor), via HBO:

(US, neologism, originally derogatory) Any of various healthcare plans seen as associated with Barack Obama before or during his tenure as U.S. President; especially, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590): a healthcare reform plan that was passed in 2010 and signed into law by him.


snikt

[Wolverine:] It seems you didn't get my meaning, friend.
[Wolverine:] This is still a free country, isn't it?
[sound effect:] SNIKT!

1975 May, Len Wein (writer), Dave Cockrum (illustrator), John Costanza (letterer), “Second Genesis!”, in Giant-Size X-Men, number 1, page 8:

Hasbro kicks off the convention with a snikt!

2009 February 15, Scott Collura, “Toy Fair 09: Wolverine, Iron Man, and Spectacular Spidey”, in IGN:

However, there’s a lot more to this grisly Canuck’s story than just the “snikt” sound effect.

2018 July 25, Peyton Hinckle, “Snikt To The Man: All Of Wolverine’s Abilities, Officially Ranked”, in CBR.com:

(onomatopoeia, fandom slang) The sound of Wolverine's claws emerging.


Obamacrat

(US politics) A Democratic supporter of Barack Obama.


southron

Likely from a Northumbrian alteration of earlier Old English suþern, suþærn. The switch from -ern to -ron is likely due to the influence of Old Norse rann (“place, house, home”) on Old English ærn (“home, place”).
More at southern.

Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America

(US, archaic) Alternative form of Southern: of or related to the American South, particularly (historical) the Confederate States of America.


southron

To the natural impressibility of the southron, the Louisianian adds the enthusiasm of the Frenchman.

1890, T. C. DeLeon, Four Years in Rebel Capitals:

(US, archaic) Alternative form of Southerner: someone from the American South, particularly (US, historical) a Confederate citizen or soldier.


PHB

After the character in Scott Adams' Dilbert comic strip.

I know this. Which is why I use it. However proving it to my PHB is a diffrent ^([sic]) matter :-)

2001, John Imrie, “my variables in foreach loops”, in comp.lang.perl.moderated (Usenet):

[…] identically dressed in blue three-piece suits, hung around accosting visitors with annoyingly impenetrable PHB marketroid jargon […]

2002, Gardner Dozois, Supermen: Tales of the Posthuman Future:

(slang, derogatory) Initialism of pointy-haired boss, an incompetent micromanager.


winged monkeys

Metaphorical reference to the literal winged monkeys that appear as the minions of the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1900 children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: winged + monkeys.

(plural only, chiefly ironic or humorous) Ominous pawns of evil forces.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Wicked Witch of the West


1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

The street address of the White House in Washington, D.C., the official residence of the President of the United States.

(colloquial, metonymically) The current President and the closest members of his administration.


Spidey-sense

From the superpower of the fictional character Spider-Man (introduced by Marvel Comics in August 1962), nicknamed Spidey, who is able to preternaturally sense danger before it can be perceived by other senses.

Having known the man for most of his life he had a certain Spidey-sense when it came to Tim’s problems.

2003, Matthew F. Winn, chapter 1, in The Sandman, College Station, Tex.: Virtualbookworm.com Publishing, →ISBN, page 5:

Abby, let me ask you this: Is your spidey sense sure Alison was killed by a man? Your other clues were that 'he' was short, wore oversized clothing, and had dark hair. What if Alison was killed by a butch-looking female?

2004 December, Victoria Laurie, Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye (A Psychic Eye Mystery), New York, N.Y.: Signet, New American Library, →ISBN:

But the sports media elite, eating free press box sushi while the rest of us are paying $9.00 for a hot dog, could never understand what set our collective spidey senses tingling.

2005, Dave Zirin, “Stir of Echoes: A New Sporting Resistance?”, in What’s My Name, Fool?: Sports and Resistance in the United States, Chicago, Ill.: Haymarket Books, →ISBN, page 259:

Don't settle for taking the world at face value. Too many people see a logo or a uniform and make bad assumptions. If your Spidey-sense tells you something's wrong, it probably is. If you don't have Spidey-sense, walk loudly and carry a big stick.

2009, “Top Ten Ways to Shut Down Hackers”, in Securing Intellectual Property: Protecting Trade Secrets and Other Information Assets, Burlington, Mass., Oxford, Oxfordshire: Butterworth-Heinemann; Syngress, →ISBN, page 153:

A sense of foreboding, almost like a Spidey-sense, tingled at the back of my neck.

2010, Tate Hallaway [pseudonym; Lyda Morehouse], Honeymoon of the Dead, New York, N.Y.: Berkley Books, →ISBN:

As I turn to the right to get to the Registration Desk, my spidey senses are starting to warn me. There's nothing I can see that is cause for immediate concern, but I know I've got to keep paying attention to those spidey senses. I know they've saved me in the past.

2018 March 10, Brad Bagwell, chapter 1, in The Hunter: Southeast Asia, Ishpeming, Mich.: BookVenture Publishing, →ISBN, page 3:

While we are all enticed by the roller-coaster ride that will come with owning a 21-year-old Ronald Acuna, most of our spidey-senses tell us that a safe player in the first round allows us to survive six months of injuries and ineffectiveness from some of our subsequent picks.

2019 February 27, Fred Zinkie, “Ranking the Safest First-round Picks in Fantasy Baseball Drafts”, in Yahoo! Sports, archived from the original on 2019-03-18:

(humorous) An intuitive feeling, usually of something being dangerous or risky; (more generally) instinct, intuition.


Cartman

Eric Cartman, a fictional character from the animated sitcom South Park.


BHO

Barack Hussein Obama
w:Barack Hussein Obama


GWB

On the real, just to show proof, hit the GWB and blow the whole roof off the toll booth, bitch ass nigga!

2003, “Get It on the Floor”, in Kasseem Dean, Earl Simmons (lyrics), Grand Champ, performed by DMX, Ruff Ryders Entertainment:

George Washington Bridge
w:George Washington Bridge

(US, New York, New England, New Jersey) Initialism of George Washington Bridge.


Brezhnev

Borrowed from Russian Бре́жнев (Bréžnev).

Бре́жнев Брежнев#Russian

A transliteration of the Russian surname Бре́жнев (Bréžnev); usually refers to the Russian revolutionary and Soviet Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU(b) Leonid Brezhnev.


teabagger

(neologism, often derogatory) An affiliate of the Tea Party movement, or a supporter of its protests and/or ideology.


War Democrat

United States of America
United States of America

(US politics, historical) A member of the Democratic Party of the United States of America who supported the prosecution of Confederates and sympathizers during the American Civil War.


Rockefeller Republican

en-noun

Rockefeller Republican (plural Rockefeller Republicans)

Named after the center-left Republican political positions of Nelson Rockefeller.

(US politics, dated) A moderate or liberal member of the Republican Party of the United States of America, especially one from the northeast of the USA.


Dixiecrat

A Dixiecrat is nothing but a Democrat in disguise.

1964 April 3, Malcolm X, The Ballot or the Bullet:

socially conservative
social conservative

(US politics, dated) A member of the Democratic Party of the United States of America from the southern States, especially one of the former territories of the Confederate States of America, who hold socially conservative viewpoints, and supports racial segregation and white power.

Throughout the controversy, most prominent southern leaders stayed within the Democratic Party. After the election, the Dixiecrat movement evaporated. The South's vocal dissent in 1948, however, forecast the sectional unrest of the following decades, weakened the region's loyalty to the Democratic Party, and prepared the way for future political realignment.

2014, James W. Ely Jr., Bradley G. Bond, The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, UNC Press Books, →ISBN, page 190:

States' Rights Democratic Party
States' Rights Democratic Party

(US politics, historical) A member of the short-lived States' Rights Democratic Party of the United States of America.


Trumpian

en-adj

Trumpian (comparative more Trumpian, superlative most Trumpian)

more Trumpian (comparative)
most Trumpian (superlative)

Good times … but then, a couple of weeks ago, Daffy was suddenly sputtering at us again. Such a magnificent Trumpian performance, such an unexpected gift, such bliss. The venue, of course, was “Page Six.”

2006 December 14, Kurt Andersen, “Because . . . Trump!”, in New York, volume 39, page 41:

Operating in a command climate of Trumpian instability, the most senior and public White House officials are party to profoundly destabilizing acts.

China is internationally much more accepted as being in the top league and is calling the shots … In Trumpian terms, he’s managed to make China look great again.

2017 October 14, Tom Phillips, quoting Steve Tsang, “Chairman Xi crushes dissent but poor believe he’s making China great”, in The Observer:

The made-up "bible verses" were of course in the form of Trumpian tweets.

2018, David Brody, Scott Lamb, The Faith of Donald J. Trump: A Spiritual Biography, →ISBN:

Beyond that, Schumer’s threat was Trumpian—a judge who displeases me will pay a price. His retraction was equally Trumpian: I didn’t threaten anyone. It would be okay if I had because in Brooklyn we threaten people all the time, but those aren’t threats, and anyway I would never, ever do what I just did.

2020, Garrett Epps, The Atlantic, Chuck Schumer Needs to Watch Himself, 6 March

Both, in true Trumpian fashion, refused to concede.

2022 August 24, Alex Shephard, “Two of the GOP’s Worst Ghouls Lost Their Primaries”, in The New Republic, retrieved 2022-08-24:

And he’s dismayed that Mr. Biden has resorted to what he sees as Trumpian tactics to shut down dissenting voices in his party.

2024 July 10, Cameron Joseph, Story Hinckley, “With no clear path forward, more Democrats affirm support for Biden”, in The Christian Science Monitor:

Resembling or pertaining to the philosophy, rhetoric, and style of Donald Trump, President of the United States from 2017 to 2021.

تِرَمْبِيٌّ

resembling or pertaining to the philosophy, rhetoric, and style of Donald Trump


Disney World

From Walt Disney World, a resort in Florida owned by Disney which is home to a group of theme parks.

[…]a sort of Disney World of American history. All the ticket takers and street sweepers and information givers were dressed in period costumes, the women in big aprons and muffin hats, the men in tricornered caps[…]

1989, Bill Bryson, The lost continent: travels in small-town America, page 110:

Somehow one's acceptance into humanity is dependent on the kind of Disney World assumption that differences are only on the surface.

1994, Kumar Rupesinghe, Marcial Rubio Correa, The culture of violence, page 87:

There is no refuge from reality in teaching, no orderly life in a kind of Disney World of the mind where nothing really dangerous ever happens and a predictable good time is had by all.

2000, James Joseph O'Donnell, Avatars of the word: from papyrus to cyberspace, page 144:

(informal, often derogatory) A place resembling the Disney World theme park, often typified by a corporately-designed saccharine cheerfulness.


Trump

en-proper noun

Trump (countable and uncountable, plural Trumps)

⇒ Translingual: donaldtrumpi

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-trump.wav

The surname has two sources.
* English (Devon): an occupational name for a trumpeter, from Middle English trumpe (“trumpet”).
* German (Bavaria): from German Trump, possibly an occupational name for a drummer, from Middle High German trumbe (“drum”), although the alternative forms Trumpf, Drumpf cannot be derived from this (except by postulating them to be hypercorrections)
* The place in Baltimore county was named after settler Simeon Van Trump.

During their interview, Shahidi asked Clinton about the uncomfortable second presidential debate, during which Trump stalked her around the stage.

2017 December 3, Kayleigh Roberts, “Yara Shahidi Just Asked Hillary Clinton About That Very Uncomfortable Trump Debate”, in Harper's BAZAAR:

Donald Trump (b. 1946), a businessman, television personality and former president of the United States of America (2017-2021).

A ghost town in Park County, Colorado, United States.

Baltimore County
Baltimore County#English

An unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States.


Supes

(colloquial) Superman, the DC Comics character.


juneteenth

juneteenth (countable and uncountable, plural juneteenths)

Alternative letter-case form of Juneteenth


biobed

(science fiction, chiefly Star Trek) A bed equipped with biofeedback sensors for medical diagnosis.


Spockian

en-adj

Spockian (comparative more Spockian, superlative most Spockian)

more Spockian (comparative)
most Spockian (superlative)

And you can see from the Spockian ears and the raised eyebrows, he had a positive Mephistophelian look.

1989, Howard Aiken, “Early Inventors”, in Robert Slater, editor, Portraits in Silicon, The MIT Press, →ISBN:

She bit into tough, stringy meat that had a pungent, wild taste to it. "Interesting," she commented, attempting a Spockian neutrality.

1997, Alex Matthews, Satan's Silence: The Second Cassidy McCabe Mystery, Intrigue Press, →ISBN, page 135:

Most cognitive psychologists in the mideighties viewed the brain as a computer-like mechanism based on pure logic and rational thought. There was no room for emotions in their Spockian formulation.

2009, Paul Herr, Primal Management: Unraveling the Secrets of Human Nature to Drive High Performance, AMACOM, →ISBN, page 24:

Related to, or characteristic of, the character Spock from Star Trek, especially in being emotionally detached.


Amerithrax

Blend of America + anthrax; the name used for the case by the FBI.

The 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, in which letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to news media offices and politicians.


Palinism

en-noun

Palinism (countable and uncountable, plural Palinisms)

Sarah Palin has stepped in with her peculiar style of speaking. There are literally thousands of sites catering to the insatiable appetite for Palinisms.

2008 November 13, “Thus spake Sarah Palin”, in Daily News and Analysis, India, retrieved 2010-08-20:

An entire book could be dedicated to 'Palinisms'—the gaffes made by the Republican vice-presidential candidate.

2008 December 22, Byrony Gordon, “2008 in celebrity train wrecks”, in telegraph.co.uk, retrieved 2010-08-20:

(countable) A statement or turn of phrase used by U.S. public figure Sarah Palin that is unintentionally comical due to malapropisms, dubious coherency, etc.


sacrilicious

en-adj

sacrilicious (comparative more sacrilicious, superlative most sacrilicious)

more sacrilicious (comparative)
most sacrilicious (superlative)

/sækɹəˈlɪʃəs/

Blend of sacrilegious + delicious, coined in a 1994 episode of the animated TV series The Simpsons (see quotation below).

I know I shouldn't eat thee, Lord, but... mmmm, sacrilicious.

1994 March 17, “Homer Loves Flanders”, in The Simpsons, season 5, episode 16, spoken by Homer Simpson (Dan Castellaneta (voice)):

Not for the modest, at those times, the secluded bar area features several TVs showing porn while you eat and drink. Mmmm, sacrilicious.

2004 October 27, Elizabeth Canning Blackwell, Frommer's Irreverent Guide to Chicago, 5th edition, Hoboken: Wiley, →ISBN, →OL, page 194:

Sellers offered VMGC T-shirts — "I ate the Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese ... It was Sacrilicious!"

2006 April 15, Susanna Paasonen, “"Virgin Mary in Grilled Cheese NOT A HOAX! LOOK & SEE!"”, in Everyday eBay: Culture, Collecting, And Desire, New York: Routledge, →ISBN, →OL, page 201:

Maybe they thought it would be inappropriate — dare I say, sacri-licious — to eat the animal the team is named after.

2007 March 1, Josh Pahigian, The Ultimate Minor League Baseball Road Trip: A Fan's Guide to AAA, AA, A, and Independent League Stadiums, Globe Pequot, →ISBN, →OL, page 44:

(slang, humorous) producing pleasure through the violation of taboos


CSM

Cantiga de Santa Maria
w:Cantigas de Santa Maria

(music) Initialism of Cantiga de Santa Maria.


TNG

Star Trek: The Next Generation
w:Star Trek: The Next Generation

(television) Initialism of Star Trek: The Next Generation.


BOTUS

Marlon Bundo is not only the first Botus (Bunny of the United States), but may be the first rabbit to: a) ride in Air Force Two; b) hold an official Instagram account that documents his every bemused lollop across a seemingly endless collection of Persian rugs; and c) have an unofficial Twitter account that reveals a much harder edge.

2018 March 20, Sian Cain, “Vice-president Mike Pence disappears down the rabbit hole”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-09-04:

Bundo had gained fame as the BOTUS (Bunny of the United States), and his Instagram account has more than 32,000 followers.

2022 January 17, Bryan Pietsch, “Marlon Bundo, Pence family rabbit and unlikely gay rights figure, dies”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-01-17:

(US politics, humorous) Initialism of bunny of the United States; a tongue-in-cheek title bestowed on Marlon Bundo, a rabbit belonging to the family of Mike Pence.