McCARTHYISM

PRONUNCIATION: (muh-KAHR-thee-iz-uhm)

MEANING: noun: The practice of making unfounded accusations against someone.

ETYMOLOGY: After US senator Joseph McCarthy (1909-1957) known for making unsubstantiated claims accusing people of being Communists, spies, and disloyal. Earliest documented use: in 1950 in a cartoon by Herbert Block.

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McCARTHYRISM - the orthographically-challenged strategy of returning to the region from which one was forced to withdraw temporarily (after General Douglas MacArthur, who uttered "I shall return!" when he had to leave the Philippines early in World War II. And indeed, he did.)