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Hatchet Jobs and Hardball: The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang
 
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Hatchet Jobs and Hardball: The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang [Hardcover]

Grant Barrett (Editor)

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From Publishers Weekly

Not sure who started starve the beast economics, or where the term big cheese came from, or what a Repubocrat is? Not to worry; Barrett’s savvy guide to political lingo breaks down all the terms anyone could need to understand the D.C. chatterati. Starting with a short introduction by James Carville and Mary Matalin that explains how Washington’s "political Esperanto" evolved from the city’s diverse regional loyalties and its "altered perception of reality," the volume defines more than 600 slang words. And though the definitions are clear and easy to understand, the real fun lies in the historical citations, which refer to films and books as often as to newspapers and congressional reports. The citation for juice ("personal or political power or influence, often of a corrupt nature"), for example, contains a quotation from the 1963 JFK biopic PT 109, and the first citation for zoo plane ("an airplane carrying journalists accompanying a traveling politician") comes from Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear & Loathing Campaign Trail. Funny and useful, this book makes a good choice for word-lovers and watchdogs alike.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The range of this delightful little dictionary is defined as "250 years of lively discourse," but most of the liveliness is of recent occurrence, with the entries being drawn primarily from the 1980s and 1990s, if not from the past two or three years. Even for words like mugwump (first example 1884) and snollygoster (1846), the editor has found more or less current instances of use.

Each entry contains part of speech, definition, and citations from a range of sources. Other elements that may be included are an etymology, a field label identifying the group or subculture that generally uses the term (for example, Mil. for military), variant forms, usage labels, cross-references, and notes. Much of the slang recorded here is indeed lively and clever. A prepared response to an opponent's anticipated assertion is a prebuttle. A red-headed Eskimo is a bill so precisely targeted that it might benefit only one specific person. A twinkie is someone or something that is appealing but lacking in substance. Velcroid applies to a person who seeks to advance by associating with a more important person. A clothespin vote is one that is cast unenthusiastically for a choice regarded as least objectionable. The idea is "that voters must use a clothespin to protect their noses from the supposed stench of such candidates."

By no means the least interesting part of the dictionary is the series of eight brief essays on topics (such as chads and the -gate suffix) about which Barrett felt compelled to comment at somewhat greater length than his definitions, notes, and etymologies permitted. This is a book to be read and enjoyed, not merely to be taken down from the shelf now and then and briefly consulted, and it is recommended for public and academic libraries. Harold Cordry
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Amazon.com: 4.2 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Outside the beltway? All over America!, Sep 16 2004
By Grant Barrett "word-wrester" - Published on Amazon.com
Ce commentaire est de: Hatchet Jobs and Hardball: The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang (Hardcover)
As the editor of this book, I'm happy to contradict the review below. We spent months combing through Oxford University Press' vast lexicographical resources to pick the best American political terms that qualified as slang and could be substantiated in the time and space available. Chinaman, usually found in the phrase "have a Chinaman," does indeed seem to be a Chicago political term, going back to at least 1973, and means "to have political influence." The reason it was not included, however, is that at the time of publishing, we had a single citation for it. Too many other better-substantiated terms took precedence. Fetcher, on the other hand, is almost too common to be considered slang, and so was not included, although juice bill, which means the same thing, is included in the book.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Hate Politics. Dig the book., Sep 16 2004
By Not real name "Joker" - Published on Amazon.com
Ce commentaire est de: Hatchet Jobs and Hardball: The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang (Hardcover)
I really don't like political slang basically because I never know what the hell people from the "beltway" are talking about on the news. I finally have a resource that will tell me what one of those cloistered freaks taking charge of my government are talking about.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars a timely dictionary!, Sep 16 2004
By S. Kolowrat - Published on Amazon.com
Ce commentaire est de: Hatchet Jobs and Hardball: The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang (Hardcover)
I was given this book as a gift, and was a little shocked - as I love words, but I am not necessarily very politically minded...although I am trying - and I found this book to be truly enjoyable! I can use it when I try to seem "up" on politics and people are impressed! I have enjoyed reading the stories of where and when the terms started to come into use, and it's all thoughtful and well written!
› Go to Amazon.com to see all 9 reviews  4.2 out of 5 stars 

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