mugwump
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mugwump¹
- /ˈmʌɡwʌmp/ UK
- /ˈmʌɡˌwʌmp/ US
- [ˈməɡˌwəmp] US
Where it comes from
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.
noun mugwumps
-
A (male) leader; an important (male) person.
Similar: baron, big cheese, big enchilada, big gun, big kahuna, big man, big name, big noise, big shot, bigwig, big wheel, boss · Opposite: absolute zero, also-ran, chopped liver, cipher, crumb, Joe Nobody, little guy, minnow, nebbish, nobody, no one, nothing
- A member of the Republican Party who declined to support the party's nominee James G. Blaine (1830–1893) during the 1884 United States presidential election, believing him to be corrupt, and instead supported the Democratic Party's candidate Grover Cleveland (1837–1908).
- A person who purports to stay aloof from party politics. The story of the capture of Vicksburg is the old, old story of failure turned into success, by which man is made immortal. It involves the history of a general who never retraced his steps, who cared neither for mugwump murmurs nor political cabals, who took both blame and praise with equanimity.
- One who switches from supporting one political party to another, especially for personal benefit.
- A person who stays neutral or non-committal; a fence sitter; also, a person who maintains an aloof and often self-important demeanour. Anthea hasn't a notion in her head but to vamp a lot of silly mugwumps. She's set her heart on that tennis bloke [...] whom the papers are making such a fuss about.
- A foolish person. ‘I very much doubt whether they’ll be able to make this pot-walloping mugwump of an Abbot understand their wire-drawn deductions,’ said Silvander Dan.
verb mugwumps · mugwumping · mugwumped
- To behave like a mugwump.
- To purport to stay aloof and independent, especially from party politics.
Mugwump²
noun Mugwumps
- Alternative letter-case form of mugwump
Talk about this word "mugwump." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/mugwump. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. mugwump. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/mugwump "mugwump." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/mugwump.Cite this
@misc{mugwump_2026,
title = {mugwump},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/mugwump},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
