The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang

by Grant Barrett, James Carville, Mary Matalin

Overview

The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang illuminates a rich and colorful segment of our language. Readers will find informative entries on slang terms such as "Beltway bandit" and "boondoggle," "angry white male" and "leg treasurer," "juice bill" and "Joe Citizen," "banana superpower" and "the Big Fix." We find not only the meaning and history of familiar terms such as "gerrymander," but also of lesser-known terms such as "cracking" (splitting a bloc of like-minded voters by redistricting) and "fair-fight district" (which refers to areas redistricted to favor no political party). Each entry includes the definition of the word, its historical background, and illuminating citations, some going back more than 200 years. Selected entries will have extended encyclopedic notes. The book also features sidebar essays on topics such as political words in Blogistan; a short history of "big cheese"; all about chads and the 2000 election; the suffix "-gate" and all the related Watergate terms; and the naming of legislation. Political junkies, policy wonks, journalists, and word lovers will find this book addictive reading as well as a reliable guide to one of the more colorful corners of American English.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195304473
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	04/21/2006
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	322
Sales rank:	1,108,121
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Grant Barrett is the project editor of the Historical Dictionary of American Slang and a lexicographer in Oxford University Press's U.S. Dictionaries program. He lives in New York City.