When someone talks about Hollywood or Wall Street, they’re probably not talking about a California city or a Manhattan street. It’s an example of what rhetoricians call metonymy. Metonyms like the White House or Downing Street are often...
beat sweetener n.— «The New Yorker says White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is “a political John McEnroe, known for both his mercurial temperament and his tactical brilliance,” yet is also uncommonly indifferent to both...
midnight rule making n.— «Anticipating an end-of-administration rush to churn out hundreds of regulations—a practice known as “midnight rule making”—the White House counseled agencies to restrain themselves. “We need to continue [our]...
grasstop n.— «The Transportation Department has said it did not engage in grassroots lobbying. But Thomas Susman, an attorney at Ropes & Gray in Washington and co-author of “The Lobbying Manual,” said contacting...
Cindrella syndrome n.— «Although many of these new rules may not take effect until the last days of the Bush administration or the first days of the next presidency, White House officials say they are the result of a deliberate and...
historical rhyme n.— «Take George Bush. By whom I mean George Bush (1796-1859), first cousin of the president’s great-great-great-grandfather. It would be hard to find a more unlikely forebear.…He published his first book...