spad

See also: SPAD, spád, späd, spað, spáð, and спад

English

Etymology 1

Shortening of special adviser.

Alternative forms

• SpAd

Noun

spad (plural spads)

1. (politics, UK, informal) A government adviser, often in a political or media role.
   • 1997 November, Reddy Hannah with Wimbush, Angela and Linesberry, Debbie, “Abbreviations and Acronyms”, in Dr. Russell G. Swenson, editor, Defense and Intelligence Abbreviations and Acronyms‎^[1], Washington, DC: Joint Military Intelligence College, archived from the original on March 12, 2016, page 192:

     SPAD Special Advisor

   • 2009, Ben Wright, Hidden world of the political advisers, BBC:

     A successful stint as a spad can be a crucial political apprenticeship - as many of the current crop of professional politicians including the Miliband brothers, David Cameron and George Osborne can testify - so long as they stay in the dark.

   • 2012, Avoid The Thick of It-style spad appointments, ministers told, The Guardian:

     The hit BBC sitcom satirising the inner workings of Whitehall and the so-called spads contains "more than a grain of truth", the head of the cross-party public administration select committee has warned.

Etymology 2

Noun

spad (plural spads)

1. (mining) A nail one or two inches long, of iron, brass, tin, or tinner iron, with a hole through the flattened head, used to mark stations in underground surveying.

Anagrams

• APDS, ASPD, PDAs, SaPD, daps, pads

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Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈspat]

Noun

1. fallout

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

spad

1. imperative of spada