This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1890 edition. Excerpt: ... POLITICAL AMERICANISMS. Abolition, Abolitionist, etc.--During the controversy that preceded the emancipation of slaves in the British colonies (1773-1833) the phrase to abolish slavery was so frequently used that with its allied nouns it acquired a specific meaning: Abolition, the movement in favor of putting an end to slavery; Abolitionist, one who sympathized with this movement. With these meanings the words were transplanted to America, but during the anti-slavery agitation in the United States widely divergent shades of significance were acquired. In the North an Abolitionist was one who favored the abolition of slavery. In the South the term was, until after the Civil War, a synonym for all that is contemptible and dishonest; this in addition to the true derivative signification as understood at the North. Many an affray has arisen from this divergence of meanings and the consequent misunderstandings. The history of abolition is coextensive with that of the United States, the anti-slavery agitation having begun before the war for independence, while Vermont abolished slavery within her borders in 1777. (See "Bobolition.") Such terms as "abolitionize," " abolitiondom," etc., are a low order of newspaper English, and have never been seriously used in other than third-rate publications or as acknowledged slang. Absenteeism.--Adapted into American speech from the Irish "National" vocabulary, and generally used in the United States with reference to wealthy citizens who reside abroad. Adamites.--Adherents of John Quincy Adams, tenth President of the United States, current 1821-1832. (See " Jacksonites.") Addition, Division, and Silence.--The supposed qualifications necessary for a lobbyist or an unscrupulous political worker. The phrase...

American lexicography has a distinguished and familiar tradition. Elwyn (1859) is intended as a corrective response to the excessive identification of Americanisms, but in fact represents what one might term the ‘traditionalist’ position. Fallows (1883) is significant as a treatment of Americanisms and Briticisms for a general audience. Norton (1890) is a specific application to American political life.

Provides a glimpse into the life and language of early nineteenth-century America, compiling slang from areas including New England, the South, and the Western frontier.

Here is a wonderful Baedeker to down-and-dirty politics--more than six hundred slang terms straight from the smoke-filled rooms of American political speech. Hatchet Jobs and Hardball: 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. (We learn, for instance, that a term as seemingly current as political football actually dates back to before the Civil War.) 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.