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 xii
... civil rights. For diplomats, there is a lesson in Kennedy's choice of quarantine to describe a blockade—a word denoting an act of war—taken from the preconditioning of the medical metaphor by FDR before World War II. In the same way ...
... civil rights. For diplomats, there is a lesson in Kennedy's choice of quarantine to describe a blockade—a word denoting an act of war—taken from the preconditioning of the medical metaphor by FDR before World War II. In the same way ...
Page 4
... Civil Liberties Union made this a test case, bringing to the defense the celebrated lawyers Clarence Darrow, Arthur Garfield Hays and Dudley who proposed a theory of creation named in 1903 by Ferdinand Canning Scott Schiller ...
... Civil Liberties Union made this a test case, bringing to the defense the celebrated lawyers Clarence Darrow, Arthur Garfield Hays and Dudley who proposed a theory of creation named in 1903 by Ferdinand Canning Scott Schiller ...
Page 9
... civil-ser- vice laws to make places for his followers, proceeded to replace more than a thousand A sign frequently displayed in rooms where experienced advance men teach the trade to neophytes eager for FACE TIME with the candidate ...
... civil-ser- vice laws to make places for his followers, proceeded to replace more than a thousand A sign frequently displayed in rooms where experienced advance men teach the trade to neophytes eager for FACE TIME with the candidate ...
Page 17
... civil-service reform, and a wil- lingness to let 'the boys' have a good time with the offices.” That sense of the word is current, though occasional. Association of Manufacturers, wrote a book in 1965 about the “private sector” called ...
... civil-service reform, and a wil- lingness to let 'the boys' have a good time with the offices.” That sense of the word is current, though occasional. Association of Manufacturers, wrote a book in 1965 about the “private sector” called ...
Page 23
... Civil War era, those who revived bitter memories of the war to advance their own political fortunes were accused of preaching a “gospel of hate.” In 1876 Harper's Magazine rejected the use of the phrase: “anybody in this centennial year ...
... Civil War era, those who revived bitter memories of the war to advance their own political fortunes were accused of preaching a “gospel of hate.” In 1876 Harper's Magazine rejected the use of the phrase: “anybody in this centennial year ...
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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