Well, originally it is also an Algonquin word that means chief, or war leader, and was used to describe an officer or captain. Eventually, it came to mean a self-important person. Washington DC is full of mugwumps.
The term was also used to describe a member of a group in the 1884 election which straddled the political fences, refusing to commit to either side. The term arose as a joke, that they sat on the fence with their mug on one side and their wump on the other.
Are you sorry you asked? I know all this good stuff because of a marvelous blog called "The Word Detective". Look it up; you'll like it!
Thanks for that, Lady Anne. Who knew! Yes, I'm going to check that blog. Growing up in a household and city full of people with accents and strange slang made me love funny words.
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I've never seen anything like that before. Wonder what a Mugwump is? Anything was possible in the 50s.
Well, originally it is also an Algonquin word that means chief, or war leader, and was used to describe an officer or captain. Eventually, it came to mean a self-important person. Washington DC is full of mugwumps.
The term was also used to describe a member of a group in the 1884 election which straddled the political fences, refusing to commit to either side. The term arose as a joke, that they sat on the fence with their mug on one side and their wump on the other.
Are you sorry you asked? I know all this good stuff because of a marvelous blog called "The Word Detective". Look it up; you'll like it!
Thanks for that, Lady Anne. Who knew! Yes, I'm going to check that blog. Growing up in a household and city full of people with accents and strange slang made me love funny words.
It looks a bit like a newt. But why on earth would an aquatic creature need an oxygen helmet?
Bungalows in Karjat
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