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English
Pronunciation
Prepositional phrase
in the tank
- (US, politics, idiomatic, usually followed by for) Supportive, approving, favorably disposed.
- 2008 May 5, Howard Kurtz, "Media Notes: Obama's Chilly Spring," Washington Post (retrieved 2 Nov 2016):
- [J]ournalists were stung by a pair of "Saturday Night Live" skits that portrayed them as in the tank for Obama.
- 2009 Feb. 11, "Craig Rubin: L.A. mayoral candidate," Los Angeles Times (retrieved 2 Nov 2016):
- "We are working hard to get the word out and meet the people, but in some ways it seems as if the press is in the tank for Villaraigosa."
- 2016 Feb. 12, Paul Krugman, "On Economic Stupidity," New York Times (retrieved 2 Nov 2016):
- Leading the charge of the utterly crazy is, you won’t be surprised to hear, Donald Trump, who has accused the Fed of being in the tank for Democrats.
Usage notes
- Frequently used in descriptions of reporters or media organizations as biased in favor of a particular politician or political party.