mugwump
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From an Algonquian term, probably Massachusett mugquomp (“important (male) person”).
Folk etymology reinterpreted it as referring to a person who sat on the fence with mug ("face") one one side and wump ("rump") on the other, which influenced political cartoons during the 1884 U.S. presidential election.
Noun [edit]
mugwump (plural mugwumps)
- (US) An independent neutral politician, especially in reference to the 1884 U.S. presidential election.
