mugwump

American  

[muhg-wuhmp] / ˈmʌgˌwʌmp /

noun

1. a Republican who refused to support the party nominee, James G. Blaine, in the presidential campaign of 1884.

2. a person who is unable to make up their mind on an issue, especially in politics; a person who is neutral on a controversial issue.

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mugwump British  

/ ˈmʌɡˌwʌmp /

noun

1. a neutral or independent person, esp in politics

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Other Word Forms

• mugwumpery noun
• mugwumpian adjective
• mugwumpish adjective
• mugwumpism noun

Etymology

Origin of mugwump

First recorded in 1830–35, artificial 19th-century revival of Massachusett ( English spelling) mugquomp, syncopated form of muggumquomp “war leader” (equivalent to Proto-Algonquian (unattested) memekw- perhaps “swift” + (unattested) -a·pe·w “man”)

Example Sentences

Telford Taylor, a mugwump Democrat, remarks that though good intentions may be mitigating circumstances, they do not negate the fact of a crime, if one occurred.

From New York Times • Oct. 21, 2021

By the time he decided to enter public life, Kennedy was a cool and detached young man and a political mugwump.

From Time Magazine Archive

When Frank Lausche was mayor of Cleveland in the early '40s, he sculpted his political totem in the form of a mugwump and named it antiboss.

From Time Magazine Archive

There is not a mugwump in the city who would shake hands with him.

From Time Magazine Archive

Papa said the other day, "I am a mugwump and a mugwump is pure from the marrow out."

From Chapters from My Autobiography by Twain, Mark