Chuck McCutcheon’s new book, Dog Whistles, Walk-Backs & Washington Handshakes, started with a single word: “disingenuous.” After nearly two decades covering Capitol Hill, says McCutcheon, he realized that the term had a different meaning in politics than it does in the real world.
“It’s the polite way to call someone a liar,” McCutcheon, co-author of National Journal’s Almanac of American Politics, said at a book signing at Politics and Prose last Saturday. “Not just a liar, but an especially clueless and out-of-touch liar.”
The realization led him to team up with former Politico senior editor David Mark, now editor-in-chief of the website Politix, on a translation guide for a political jargon that can feel a lot like a foreign language. “It took about four months of interviewing dozens of people for their favorite terms and definitions,” says McCutcheon.
As Washington-speak evolves, McCutcheon and Mark will continue to add to their collection of terms and phrases via their website and on Twitter (@ChuckMcCutcheon). In the meantime, here are some of our favorites, excerpted* from the book:
I’m just raising the question: A way of bringing up negative, even conspiratorial, information about an opponent without looking like the bad guy.
I’m sorry if I offended anyone: A classic non-apology apology that makes it clear the public figure is sorry for being caught, not for what he or she actually said.
I want to spend more time with my family: One of the most pervasive euphemisms in the government and business worlds, it’s the lame excuse when someone doesn’t want to provide the real reason for departing a job.
Grownups: The description of serious legislators who would rather accomplish something than gain publicity.
Wing nut: A lawmaker or activist known more for his or her proclivity for making outrageous statements than for accomplishing much legislatively.
Nontroversy: A conflation of “non” and “controversy” to describe an incident or utterance that’s seen as wholly undeserving of any fuss.
Not in a position to: A willfully ignorant phrase by a media spinner to deny knowledge on a subject they could reasonably be expected to discuss. It’s a press secretary’s way of painting him/herself as a cog in a larger machine, to deflect giving a straightforward answer.
Chuck McCutcheon’s New Book Aims to Define the Language of Politics
Dog Whistles, Walk-Backs & Washington Handshakes explains what politicians are really saying.
Chuck McCutcheon’s new book, Dog Whistles, Walk-Backs & Washington Handshakes, started with a single word: “disingenuous.” After nearly two decades covering Capitol Hill, says McCutcheon, he realized that the term had a different meaning in politics than it does in the real world.
“It’s the polite way to call someone a liar,” McCutcheon, co-author of National Journal’s Almanac of American Politics, said at a book signing at Politics and Prose last Saturday. “Not just a liar, but an especially clueless and out-of-touch liar.”
The realization led him to team up with former Politico senior editor David Mark, now editor-in-chief of the website Politix, on a translation guide for a political jargon that can feel a lot like a foreign language. “It took about four months of interviewing dozens of people for their favorite terms and definitions,” says McCutcheon.
As Washington-speak evolves, McCutcheon and Mark will continue to add to their collection of terms and phrases via their website and on Twitter (@ChuckMcCutcheon). In the meantime, here are some of our favorites, excerpted* from the book:
I’m just raising the question: A way of bringing up negative, even conspiratorial, information about an opponent without looking like the bad guy.
I’m sorry if I offended anyone: A classic non-apology apology that makes it clear the public figure is sorry for being caught, not for what he or she actually said.
I want to spend more time with my family: One of the most pervasive euphemisms in the government and business worlds, it’s the lame excuse when someone doesn’t want to provide the real reason for departing a job.
Grownups: The description of serious legislators who would rather accomplish something than gain publicity.
Wing nut: A lawmaker or activist known more for his or her proclivity for making outrageous statements than for accomplishing much legislatively.
Nontroversy: A conflation of “non” and “controversy” to describe an incident or utterance that’s seen as wholly undeserving of any fuss.
Not in a position to: A willfully ignorant phrase by a media spinner to deny knowledge on a subject they could reasonably be expected to discuss. It’s a press secretary’s way of painting him/herself as a cog in a larger machine, to deflect giving a straightforward answer.
*Excerpted from Dog Whistles, Walk-Backs & Washington Handshakes: Decoding the Jargon, Slang, and Bluster of America Political Speech by Chuck McCutcheon and David Mark. Published by ForeEdge, an imprint of University Press of New England.
Most Popular in News & Politics
The Missing Men of Mount Pleasant
Another Mysterious Anti-Trump Statue Has Appeared on the National Mall
Muriel Bowser Defends Her BLM Plaza Decision and Looks Back on a Decade as Mayor
Yet Another Anti-Trump Statue Has Shown Up on the National Mall
8 Takeaways From Usha Vance’s Interview With Meghan McCain
Washingtonian Magazine
July Issue: The "Best Of" Issue
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
How Would a New DC Stadium Compare to the Last One?
The Culture of Lacrosse Is More Complex Than People Think
Did Television Begin in Dupont Circle?
Kings Dominion’s Wild New Coaster Takes Flight in Virginia
More from News & Politics
Guest List: 5 People We’d Love to Hang Out With This July
The Washington Nationals Just Fired the Manager and GM Who Led Them to a Championship. Why Has the Team Been so Bad Since?
FBI Building Now on Track to Leave DC After All, Whistleblower Leaks Texts Suggesting Justice Department Planned to Blow Off Federal Court Orders, and NPS Cuts Leave Assateague Island Without Lifeguards
Families of DC Air Disaster Victims Criticize Army’s Response, Trump Settles His Scores Via Tariff, and Police Dog Kicked at Dulles Returns to Work
This DC-Area Lawyer Wants More Americans Betting on Elections
Trump Threatens DC Takeover, Says He’d Run the City “So Good”; Supreme Court OKs Mass Federal Worker Layoffs; and You Should Go Pick Some Sunflowers
Trump Pledges Support for RFK Stadium Plan, Ben’s Chili Bowl Will Strand Us Half-Smokeless for Months, and Pediatricians Are Suing RFK Jr.
Muriel Bowser Defends Her BLM Plaza Decision and Looks Back on a Decade as Mayor