Hatchet Jobs and Hardball: The Oxford Dictionary of American Political Slang

Not sure who started starve the beast economics, or where the term big cheese came from, or what a Repubocrat is? Not to worry; Barrett's savvy guide to political lingo breaks down all the terms anyone could need to understand the D.C. chatterati. Starting with a short introduction by James Carville and Mary Matalin that explains how Washington's""political Esperanto"" evolved from the city's diverse regional loyalties and its""altered perception of reality,"" the volume defines more than 600 slang words. And though the definitions are clear and easy to understand, the real fun lies in the historical citations, which refer to films and books as often as to newspapers and congressional reports. The citation for juice (""personal or political power or influence, often of a corrupt nature""), for example, contains a quotation from the 1963 JFK biopic PT 109, and the first citation for zoo plane (""an airplane carrying journalists accompanying a traveling politician"") comes from Hunter S. Thompson's Fear & Loathing Campaign Trail. Funny and useful, this book makes a good choice for word-lovers and watchdogs alike.