mugwump
Americannoun
-
a Republican who refused to support the party nominee, James G. Blaine, in the presidential campaign of 1884.
-
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.
noun
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”)
Explanation
A mugwump is someone, especially in politics, who sits on the fence. Mugwumps don't commit to one side or the other. This odd word refers to something common: someone who is neutral or uncommitted, especially in politics. A mugwump isn't committed to a party, candidate, or belief. Mugwumps could be in the middle of the road or just uninterested in politics. During any election, the candidates spend a lot of energy trying to get the mugwumps on their side. If you were trying to make a decision with a group and no one would commit, you could say "Don’t be a bunch of mugwumps!"
Vocabulary lists containing mugwump
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Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
Charlie Taft is proud to call himself a middle-of-the-roader, a moderate, a mugwump.
From Time Magazine Archive
A mugwump who backed F.D.R. in 1940 and bucked Barry Goldwater in 1964?
From Time Magazine Archive
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
In Eliot's Bible, the word which means a great chief—such as Joshua, or Gideon, or Joab—is "mugwump."
From The Beginnings of New England Or the Puritan Theocracy in its Relations to Civil and Religious Liberty by Fiske, John
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
