Safire's Political DictionaryWhen it comes to the vagaries of language in American politics, its uses and abuses, its absurdities and ever-shifting nuances, its power to confound, obscure, and occasionally to inspire, William Safire is the language maven we most readily turn to for clarity, guidance, and penetrating, sometimes lacerating, wit. Safire's Political Dictionary is a stem-to-stern updating and expansion of the Language of Politics, which was first published in 1968 and last revised in 1993, long before such terms as Hanging Chads, 9/11 and the War on Terror became part of our everyday vocabulary. Nearly every entry in that renowned work has been revised and updated and scores of completely new entries have been added to produce an indispensable guide to the political language being used and abused in America today. Safire's definitions--discursive, historically aware, and often anecdotal--bring a savvy perspective to our colorful political lingo. Indeed, a Safire definition often reads like a mini-essay in political history, and readers will come away not only with a fuller understanding of particular words but also a richer knowledge of how politics works, and fails to work, in America. From Axis of Evil, Blame Game, Bridge to Nowhere, Triangulation, and Compassionate Conservatism to Islamofascism, Netroots, Earmark, Wingnuts and Moonbats, Slam Dunk, Doughnut Hole, and many others, this language maven explains the origin of each term, how and by whom and for what purposes it has been used or twisted, as well as its perceived and real significance. For anyone who wants to cut through the verbal haze that surrounds so much of American political discourse, Safire's Political Dictionary offers a work of scholarship, wit, insiderhood and resolute bipartisanship. |
From inside the book
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Page xvii
... Nixon years: Attacks Coinages black capitalism bring us together effete snobs game plan hack it instant analysis lift of a driving dream linkage nattering nabobs of negativism New Federalism Nixon Doctrine old wine in new bottles radic ...
... Nixon years: Attacks Coinages black capitalism bring us together effete snobs game plan hack it instant analysis lift of a driving dream linkage nattering nabobs of negativism New Federalism Nixon Doctrine old wine in new bottles radic ...
Page xviii
... Nixon not only popularized expressions that had been little known, but also spawned terms likely to be used for generations: cover-up, loosely applied to any obstruction of justice or lesser denial of information, is a political charge ...
... Nixon not only popularized expressions that had been little known, but also spawned terms likely to be used for generations: cover-up, loosely applied to any obstruction of justice or lesser denial of information, is a political charge ...
Page 24
... Nixon sent reprints of TR's “Man in the Arena” quotation to hundreds sandy place,” the center of an amphitheater of ... Nixon's 1968 campaign, sixty years later. Supreme Court Justice served Bush well in his comeback victory in Charles ...
... Nixon sent reprints of TR's “Man in the Arena” quotation to hundreds sandy place,” the center of an amphitheater of ... Nixon's 1968 campaign, sixty years later. Supreme Court Justice served Bush well in his comeback victory in Charles ...
Page 28
... Nixon campaign to eschew such vogue words as “at that point in time,” As a metaphor, attack dog is in a way the modern equivalent of cat's-paw, a term than has been dated to the seventeenth cen- tury in the sense of “one acting as the ...
... Nixon campaign to eschew such vogue words as “at that point in time,” As a metaphor, attack dog is in a way the modern equivalent of cat's-paw, a term than has been dated to the seventeenth cen- tury in the sense of “one acting as the ...
Page 29
... Nixon defined it 34 years ago,” asked the oil expert Daniel Yergin in a 2007 Wall Street Journal commentary, “—that is, 1930s-style 'autarky' and total self-sufficiency? Based on where we are today, very small, at least for a couple of ...
... Nixon defined it 34 years ago,” asked the oil expert Daniel Yergin in a 2007 Wall Street Journal commentary, “—that is, 1930s-style 'autarky' and total self-sufficiency? Based on where we are today, very small, at least for a couple of ...
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Common terms and phrases
action Administration aide American appeared applied asked attack became become began bill Bush called campaign candidate century charge City civil columnist Communist Congress conservative convention criticism deal defense Democratic described early economic Eisenhower election expression forces foreign former George give Governor head House idea included interest issue John Johnson Kennedy known later leader liberal major meaning ment metaphor military never Nixon nomination noted original party peace person phrase play political politicians popular position Post President presidential referred reported Republican Robert Roosevelt rule Secretary Senator sense speech talk term thing tion told took turn United usage usually Vice vote voters Washington White House word writer wrote York