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
... meaning; in the '70s, convention bounce and power curve appeared; the '80s saw evil empire, empowerment, and defining moment; the '90s spread the use of ankle-biters, the bubba vote, and is is, the meaning of. The new millennium offers ...
... meaning; in the '70s, convention bounce and power curve appeared; the '80s saw evil empire, empowerment, and defining moment; the '90s spread the use of ankle-biters, the bubba vote, and is is, the meaning of. The new millennium offers ...
Page xxi
... meaning as “slang used by insiders with intent to confuse outsiders,” as in strike a blow for freedom. Love's Labor Not Lost This tome is now approaching 550,000 words of text, with 1800 terms defined in some 1400 entries. Since the ...
... meaning as “slang used by insiders with intent to confuse outsiders,” as in strike a blow for freedom. Love's Labor Not Lost This tome is now approaching 550,000 words of text, with 1800 terms defined in some 1400 entries. Since the ...
Page 17
... meaning. The other boys are “the boys in the back- room”—the political bosses, a usage trace- able to 1879: “Stalwartism” [see STALWART ], wrote The Nation, “includes indifference or hostility to civil-service reform, and a wil ...
... meaning. The other boys are “the boys in the back- room”—the political bosses, a usage trace- able to 1879: “Stalwartism” [see STALWART ], wrote The Nation, “includes indifference or hostility to civil-service reform, and a wil ...
Page 18
... meaning. They were opposed, for example, to waves of immigration and especially to Irish Catholics. Progressives, however, used Americanism in the opposite sense—to urge assimilation of immigrants into the U.S. social system. The issue ...
... meaning. They were opposed, for example, to waves of immigration and especially to Irish Catholics. Progressives, however, used Americanism in the opposite sense—to urge assimilation of immigrants into the U.S. social system. The issue ...
Page 49
... meaning was that blacks would profit if extremists on both sides of the race issue were to lower their voices. But, as Newsweek wrote, “to black leaders and their allies, 'neglect'—benign or malign—seemed precisely to describe ...
... meaning was that blacks would profit if extremists on both sides of the race issue were to lower their voices. But, as Newsweek wrote, “to black leaders and their allies, 'neglect'—benign or malign—seemed precisely to describe ...
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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