poli-fluential
n.—Gloss: a person who is actively involved in influencing others about their political points of view. Note: This brand-new term is untested and joins the oodles of words coined by political marketers and analysts, most which fail to catch on. You can read the report from which it comes here. «They call these people the “poli-fluentials” and differentiate them from people who are merely “influentials” (defined as someone who sometimes e-mails public officials, writes letters to the editor, calls a radio show, goes to a rally or joins an advocacy group) and people who are “politicals” (defined as someone who donates money to or volunteers for campaigns). Poli-fluentials, IPDI finds, do both kinds of activities.» —“’Political kingmakers’ take to the Web” by Andrew Rasiej, Micah L. Sifry Politico Oct. 10, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Barbara Kingsolver’s book Demon Copperhead is a retelling of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield set in today’s Appalachia. Martha...
Lorelei from Wakefield, Virginia, learned the word nonce from the Spelling Bee game in The New York Times. When she looked up the definition of...
Ty in Nashville, Tennessee, has fond memories of his dad handing him what he called folding money. This term simply refers to bills, rather than...
It’s cats and dogs, and a few other critters, too. Animals prowl around inside several English words, including sleuth, which was originally...
Will Shortz, crossword editor of the New York Times and puzzlemaster on NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday,” shares a quiz about a whole...
Puzzling over the New York Times Spelling Bee, Jordan in Cheyenne, Wyoming, played the word pipped, but was surprised that the game disallowed it. He...
You must log in to post a comment.