This week’s theme
Words with presidential connections

This week’s words
OK
sockdolager
teddy bear
watergate
throttlebottom

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(WOH-tuhr-gayt)

MEANING:

noun: A scandal involving abuse of office, deceit, and cover-up.

ETYMOLOGY:

After the Watergate office and residential complex in Washington, DC. It was the site of a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in 1972 by people associated with US President Richard Nixon (1913-1994). The resulting scandal and cover-up led to Nixon’s resignation. Earliest documented use: 1972.

NOTES:

Watergate, a scandal of mammoth proportions, has given us a useful suffix (-gate) for describing many a scandal including gategate.

USAGE:

“[Thomas Donaldson] said the nature of Volkswagen’s scandal had few parallels: ‘I’ve never seen a corporate Watergate of this stripe.’”
Jena McGregor; VW’s Next CEO Faces Big Challenge; Los Angeles Times; Sep 27, 2015.

See more usage examples of Watergate in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: