Winning English - Mastering Idioms, Slang, and References
Turnout the base • Swing voters • The polls • Walk and chew gum at the same time • Mud-slinging
As you probably know, the US has a major election in one week. You are likely seeing many news stories about it. There are many special English words that native speakers use when discussing politics, so I thought I would focus one newsletter on a few of those.
Political candidates need every vote they can get. Often they focus on turning out their base. However, they would also like to get the votes of swing voters if they can. They want as many supporters as possible to go to the polls.
Photo by Elliott Stallion on Unsplash
“To turn out” means to come to an event - in this case, the election, but it can be any event. “The base” is that group of people who most strongly support a politician or party. They are called “the base” because they are the solid floor upon which a politician builds more support. So, to “turn out your base” means that you get your most solid supporters to come to vote.
A “swing voter” is someone who changes his or her support for a politician or party every election. Picture a child’s swing. It goes back and forth. That’s what these people do in politics. You’ll also likely hear about “swing states”. In that case, the entire state tends to switch back and forth between parties every election.
“The polls” is a different way to say “vote”. When people go to “the polls”, they go to “vote”. This is different from polls you often hear about before an election. Those are special surveys - usually done through phone calls - to find out what people think about candidates or issues.
Very often US politicians use common words and phrases when speaking. They are trying to sound folksy. They want all voters to like them. For example, one presidential candidate held a “no malarkey” bus tour. He also said in one debate that he was able “to walk and chew gum at the same time”. Of course, all political candidates also do a lot of mud-slinging, too.
Photo by Karen Maes on Unsplash
To sound “folksy” is to speak like ordinary people do. Ordinary people are often called “folks”.
“Malarky” is an old-fashioned slang word often used by Joe Biden. It means “nonsense” or “stupidity”.
The idiom “to walk and chew gum at the same time” means that you are capable of doing two things at once. Sometimes people or organizations will say they need to focus on only one thing. Someone who doesn’t like that choice could say, “You need to walk and chew gum at the same time!” In other words, you can’t choose just one; you need to do both.
“To sling” is another way to say “to throw”. Mud, of course, is wet dirt. When you sling mud at people, you are throwing wet dirt at them. That makes them look messy and bad. So, “mud-slinging” is what politicians do when they want their opponent to look bad. Most often politicians do this by accusing their opponent of doing bad things or of being a bad person.
Thanks for reading Winning English! Make sure to listen to the podcast, as well, to improve your learning. If you like what you read or hear, please consider telling a friend. Talk soon!