Mugwump, corrected version
Posted by Bob on March 08, 2003
In Reply to: Mugwump, corrected version posted by R. Berg on March 08, 2003
: : : I haven't heard this
phrase in awhile and was
: : : curious of it.
: : : : "...mug on one side
whump on the other."
: : : Today I saw the words spoiled mugwhumps in
:
: : Charlie Daniels'
: : : - Open Letter To The Hollywood Bunch,
: : :
using the word "mugwhumps."
: : : What exactly is a mugwhump?
: : That must
be a misspelling of "mugwump." American Heritage Dictionary:
: : 1. (Often
capital M.) A Republican who bolted his party in 1884, refusing to support James
G. Blaine as candidate for the U.S. presidency. 2. Any person who acts independently,
especially in politics. [Natick "mugquomp," "mugwomp," "captain."]
It was a wit's observation during the 1884 campaign that a mugwump was a fence-sitter, with hig mug on one side and his wump (comic mis-pronunciation of rump) on the other