Mugwumperies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The practice of standing aloof from party loyalty and refusing to back any one political side, often with an air of self-importance
2. Conduct typical of a person who sits on the political fence and claims an independent, superior detachment from partisan commitments
3. Behavior of those who hold themselves apart from party allegiance and keep an aloof, self-regarding neutrality in political matters

Etymology: "Mugwumperies" is the plural of "mugwumpery," the behaviour or attitude of a mugwump. The base word has a memorable origin: "mugwump" comes from Algonquian, from a word meaning "great man" or "big chief," perhaps from a term like "mugquomp" recorded in 17th-century New England. In the 1880s it was adopted as American slang for a person who stands aloof from party politics, sitting on the fence with their "mug" on one side and their "wump" on the other, a joke that treats the word as a pair of body parts. The word's sense arose from its use by Republicans who bolted from their party in the 1884 presidential election to support Democrat Grover Cleveland. The suffix "-ery," from Old French "-erie," marks a state, practice or collection of behaviour, so "mugwumpery" names the habit of holding aloof from party loyalty. The plural form "mugwumperies" refers to instances or displays of that conduct.