"if-by-whiskey" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "Refers to a 1952 speech by Noah S. \"Soggy\" Sweat Jr. during a debate on whether or not Mississippi should legalize alcoholic beverages. He prefaced his qualified agreement with each side in turn with the formula \"if by whiskey you mean...\" and a definition of \"whiskey\" crafted to support that side.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "if-by-whiskey (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "American English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Politics",
          "orig": "en:Politics",
          "parents": [
            "Society",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "2010, Carol Phillip-Tudor, The Boy, The Professor and Ella's Regret, Dorrance Publishing Company (RoseDog Books), page 103,\n\"You a foolin' nary a soul, mister Emil\" says Bilky. \"I's thinkin' maybe yourin a usin' the If-by-Whiskey defense. […] \""
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "That equivocates on an issue while appearing to affirm both sides, by asserting that each is correct depending on which of two stated alternatives is used as the definition of a key term."
      ],
      "id": "en-if-by-whiskey-en-adj-9zu3e4dy",
      "links": [
        [
          "politics",
          "politics"
        ],
        [
          "equivocate",
          "equivocate"
        ],
        [
          "issue",
          "issue"
        ],
        [
          "affirm",
          "affirm"
        ],
        [
          "side",
          "side"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(US, politics, of a speech, etc.) That equivocates on an issue while appearing to affirm both sides, by asserting that each is correct depending on which of two stated alternatives is used as the definition of a key term."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "of a speech"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "not-comparable",
        "usually"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "government",
        "politics"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Noah S. Sweat"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌɪf baɪ ˈwɪski/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌɪf baɪ ˈʍɪski/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-if-by-whiskey.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3b/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-if-by-whiskey.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-if-by-whiskey.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3b/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-if-by-whiskey.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-if-by-whiskey.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (Southern England)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "if-by-whiskey"
}

{
  "etymology_text": "Refers to a 1952 speech by Noah S. \"Soggy\" Sweat Jr. during a debate on whether or not Mississippi should legalize alcoholic beverages. He prefaced his qualified agreement with each side in turn with the formula \"if by whiskey you mean...\" and a definition of \"whiskey\" crafted to support that side.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "if-by-whiskey (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "American English",
        "English adjectives",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English uncomparable adjectives",
        "en:Politics"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "2010, Carol Phillip-Tudor, The Boy, The Professor and Ella's Regret, Dorrance Publishing Company (RoseDog Books), page 103,\n\"You a foolin' nary a soul, mister Emil\" says Bilky. \"I's thinkin' maybe yourin a usin' the If-by-Whiskey defense. […] \""
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "That equivocates on an issue while appearing to affirm both sides, by asserting that each is correct depending on which of two stated alternatives is used as the definition of a key term."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "politics",
          "politics"
        ],
        [
          "equivocate",
          "equivocate"
        ],
        [
          "issue",
          "issue"
        ],
        [
          "affirm",
          "affirm"
        ],
        [
          "side",
          "side"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(US, politics, of a speech, etc.) That equivocates on an issue while appearing to affirm both sides, by asserting that each is correct depending on which of two stated alternatives is used as the definition of a key term."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "of a speech"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "not-comparable",
        "usually"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "government",
        "politics"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Noah S. Sweat"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌɪf baɪ ˈwɪski/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌɪf baɪ ˈʍɪski/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-if-by-whiskey.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3b/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-if-by-whiskey.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-if-by-whiskey.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3b/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-if-by-whiskey.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-if-by-whiskey.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (Southern England)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "if-by-whiskey"
}