mugwump

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun someone who bolted from the Republican Party during the U.S. presidential election of 1884
  2. noun a neutral or uncommitted person (especially in politics)

Etymology

The noun is borrowed from Massachusett mugquomp, mummugquomp (“war leader”). Folk etymology reinterpreted it as referring to a person who sat on the fence with their mug (“face”) on one side and wump (“rump”) on the other, which influenced political cartoons during the 1884 United States presidential election. The verb is derived from the noun.

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