- Today's Word
Mugwump
[MUG-wuhmp]
Definition
- (noun) A person who remains independent or neutral, especially in politics. It can refer to someone who is unable to make up their mind on an issue, or who refuses to align with any particular group or party.
Example
Despite pressure from both sides, Senator Johnson remained a mugwump on the controversial bill, refusing to commit to either a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote.
Fun Fact
The term “mugwump” comes from the Algonquian word “mugquomp,” meaning “important person” or “war leader.” It entered American political slang in 1884, when it was used to describe Republicans who refused to support their party’s presidential nominee, James G. Blaine, instead crossing party lines to support the Democratic candidate, Grover Cleveland. These Republicans were sarcastically called “mugwumps,” implying they thought themselves too important to follow party lines. Over time, the term has evolved to describe any political fence-sitter or independent thinker.
(adjective) Lacking substance, interest, or mature thought; naive and simplistic in a way that reveals inexperience.
The critic dismissed the debut novel as jejune — competently written, technically adequate, and utterly devoid of anything worth remembering.
Jejune derives from the Latin jejunus, meaning “fasting” or “empty” — literally describing a stomach that has not been fed. The same root gives us jejunum, the section of the small intestine named for its tendency to be found empty after death. It entered English in the 17th century carrying its literal sense of emptiness before acquiring its figurative meaning of something intellectually or creatively hollow — content that has the form of nourishment without any of the substance.