{"product_id":"9780190292058","title":"Hatchet Jobs and Hardball: The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang","description":"Here is a wonderful Baedeker to down-and-dirty politics--more than six hundred slang terms straight from the smoke-filled rooms of American political speech. \u003cem\u003eHatchet Jobs and Hardball: The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang\u003c\/em\u003e illuminates a rich and colorful segment of our language. Readers will find informative entries on slang terms such as \u003cem\u003eBeltway bandit\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eboondoggle, angry white male\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eleg treasurer, juice bill\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eJoe Citizen, banana superpower\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003ethe Big Fix\u003c\/em\u003e. We find not only the meaning and history of familiar terms such as \u003cem\u003egerrymander\u003c\/em\u003e, but also of lesser-known terms such as \u003cem\u003ecracking\u003c\/em\u003e (splitting a bloc of like-minded voters by redistricting) and \u003cem\u003efair-fight district\u003c\/em\u003e (which refers to areas redistricted to favor no political party).  Each entry includes the definition of the word, its historical background, and illuminating citations, some going back more than 200 years. (We learn, for instance, that a term as seemingly current as \u003cem\u003epolitical football\u003c\/em\u003e actually dates back to before the Civil War.) Selected entries will have extended encyclopedic notes. The book also features sidebar essays on topics such as political words in Blogistan; a short history of \"big cheese\"; all about chads and the 2000 election; the suffix \"-gate\" and all the related Watergate terms; and the naming of legislation. Political junkies, policy wonks, journalists, and word lovers will find this book addictive reading as well as a reliable guide to one of the more colorful corners of American English.","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47081424945392,"sku":"9780190292058","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780190292058_p0.jpg?v=1763659046","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780190292058","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}