This week’s theme
Words related to politics and elections

This week’s words
shermanesque
carpetbagger
logrolling
dog whistle
suffrage

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(KAHR-pet-bag-uhr)

MEANING:

An opportunistic outsider, especially a political candidate who contests election in an area while having little connection to it.

ETYMOLOGY:

In the US, the term was applied to a Northerner who went to the South after the Civil War during the Reconstruction era. Such a person typically carried his belongings in a bag made of old carpet. Earliest documented use: 1868.

USAGE:

“Unlike many of the pro-establishment candidates who have spent years in their respective districts serving residents and neighborhoods with dedication, a number of opposition candidates are carpetbaggers, who suddenly appeared in a district just before election time.”
Not a Hard Choice; China Daily (Hong Kong); Nov 23, 2015.

See more usage examples of carpetbagger in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: