This is a list of common political

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...

Relating to the executive

eminence grise Eminence may refer to: Places * Eminence, Arkansas, a place in Arkansas, U.S. * Eminence, Indiana, U.S. * Eminence, Kansas, U.S. * Eminence, Kentucky, U.S. * Eminence, Mississippi, in Covington County, Mississippi, U.S. * Eminence, Missouri, ...

: literally, "grey man," from French. Colloquially, the power-behind-the-throne. An official close to the president or monarch who has so much power behind the scenes may double or serve as the monarch. *

figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a person who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet ''de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that they ...

: a leader whose powers are entirely symbolic, such as a

constitutional monarch A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

. *

puppet government A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside power and subject to its orders.Compare: Puppet states have nominal sovere ...

: a government that is manipulated by a foreign power for its own interests. *

star chamber The Star Chamber (Latin: ''Camera stellata'') was an English court that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late to the mid-17th century (c. 1641), and was composed of Privy Counsellors and common-law judges, to supplement the judic ...

: a secretive council or other group within a government that possesses the actual power, regardless of the government's overt form.

Relating to legislation

blank check A blank cheque in the literal sense is a cheque that has no monetary value written in, but is already signed. In the figurative sense, it is used to describe a situation in which an agreement has been made that is open-ended or vague, and therefo ...

legislation which is vaguely worded to the point where it can be widely exploited and abused. *

grandfather clause A grandfather clause, also known as grandfather policy, grandfathering, or grandfathered in, is a provision in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations while a new rule will apply to all future cases. Those exempt from t ...

that allows a piece of legislation not to apply to something old or incumbent. * poison pill a provision in an act or bill which defeats or undermines its initial purpose or makes it politically unacceptable. *

pork barrel ''Pork barrel'', or simply ''pork'', is a metaphor for the appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative's district. The usage originated in American English, and i ...

legislation or patronage: acts of government that blatantly favor powerful special interest groups. * rider that attaches something new or unrelated to an existing bill. *

sunset clause In public policy, a sunset provision or sunset clause is a measure within a statute, regulation or other law that provides that the law shall cease to have effect after a specific date, unless further legislative action is taken to extend the law ...

to prevent legislation from being permanent. *a

trigger law A trigger law is a law that is unenforceable but may achieve enforceability if a key change in circumstances occurs. United States Abortion In the United States, thirteen states, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, No ...

that will automatically "spring" into effect once some other variable occurs.

Relating to elections

character assassination "Character Assassination" is a four-issue Spider-Man story arc written by Marc Guggenheim with art by John Romita, Jr. and published by Marvel Comics. The arc appears in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #584-#588. An interlude, "The Spartacus Gambit" ...

: spreading (usually) manufactured stories about a candidate with the intent to destroy their reputation in the eyes of the public. * dark/black horse: a candidate who is largely ignored by opponents yet makes significant gains. *

gerrymandering In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...

: reshaping district lines to include/exclude segments of voters that may help/hurt your chances of election. *

landslide victory A landslide victory is an election result in which the victorious candidate or party wins by an overwhelming margin. The term became popular in the 1800s to describe a victory in which the opposition is "buried", similar to the way in which a geol ...

: a huge victory for one side. *

muckraking The muckrakers were reform-minded journalists, writers, and photographers in the Progressive Era in the United States (1890s–1920s) who claimed to expose corruption and wrongdoing in established institutions, often through sensationalist publ ...

: uncovering and publicizing scandalous information about a person or organization *

mudslinging Negative campaigning is the process of deliberately spreading negative information about someone or something to worsen the public image of the described. A colloquial, and somewhat more derogatory, term for the practice is mudslinging. Delibe ...

: harsh partisan insults exchanged between candidates. *

parachute candidate A parachute candidate, or carpetbagger in the United States, is a pejorative term for an election candidate who does not live in, and has little connection to, the area they are running to represent. The allegation is thus that the candidate is b ...

carpetbagger In the history of the United States, carpetbagger is a largely historical term used by Southerners to describe opportunistic Northerners who came to the Southern states after the American Civil War, who were perceived to be exploiting the lo ...

: a candidate who runs for election in an area which they are not a native resident or has no ties. *

paper candidate In a representative democracy, a paper candidate (also known as a no-hope candidate) is a candidate who stands for a political party in an electoral division where the party in question enjoys only low levels of support. Although the candidate ...

: a candidate who puts no effort into their campaign and is essentially just a name on the ballot. * riding coattails: victories by local or state politicians because of the popularity of more powerful politicians. *

sacrificial lamb A sacrificial lamb is a metaphorical reference to a person or animal sacrificed for the common good. The term is derived from the traditions of Abrahamic religion where a lamb is a highly valued possession. In politics In politics, a sacrificial ...

: a candidate who is put forward to run for office, by their party or others, but who has no chance of winning. *

stalking horse A stalking horse is a figure used to test a concept or mount a challenge on behalf of an anonymous third party. If the idea proves viable or popular, the anonymous third party can then declare its interest and advance the concept with little risk o ...

: a perceived front-runner candidate who unifies their opponents, usually within a single political party. *

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

: a political movement driven by the constituents of a community. *

astroturfing Astroturfing is the practice of masking the sponsors of a message or organization (e.g., political, advertising, religious or public relations) to make it appear as though it originates from and is supported by grassroots participants. It is a p ...

: formal public relations campaigns in politics and advertising that seek to create the impression of being spontaneous, grassroots behavior. * stooge: To mislead a candidate or campaigner, or to masquerade as a constituent interested in an issue being promoted. * Left and right wing: terms used to delineate the partisan divide between, on the left, change benefitting the working class, and, on the right, change benefitting the established order of privilege.

Relating to world politics

hard power In politics, hard power is the use of military and economic means to influence the behavior or interests of other political bodies. This form of political power is often aggressive (coercion), and is most immediately effective when imposed by one ...

: using military force against another country as form of punishment. *

soft power In politics (and particularly in international politics), soft power is the ability to co-opt rather than coerce (contrast hard power). In other words, soft power involves shaping the preferences of others through appeal and attraction. A defin ...

: using economic and diplomatic sanctions against another country as a form of punishment. * soft tyranny: when a democratic government uses its power in a manner which diminishes the rights or power of the voters. * big stick diplomacy: using displays of military force against other countries to show dominance.

Relating to the issues

wedge issue A wedge issue is a political or social issue, often of a controversial or divisive nature, which splits apart a demographic or population group. Wedge issues can be advertised or publicly aired in an attempt to strengthen the unity of a populatio ...

: an issue which turns members of a party against each other. *

third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway t ...

: an issue which is so controversial, pursuing it or even attempting to address it could end one's political career. *

straw man A straw man (sometimes written as strawman) is a form of argument and an informal fallacy of having the impression of refuting an argument, whereas the real subject of the argument was not addressed or refuted, but instead replaced with a false ...

: the practice of refuting an argument that is weaker than what one's opponent actually offers, or which they simply have not put forth at all. A type of logical fallacy. * sacred cow: an institution which few dare question, because it is so revered.

Others

body politic The body politic is a polity—such as a city, realm, or state—considered metaphorically as a physical body. Historically, the sovereign is typically portrayed as the body's head, and the analogy may also be extended to other anatomical par ...

: a political community conceived as a physical body. *

bread and circuses "Bread and circuses" (or bread and games; from Latin: ''panem et circenses'') is a metonymic phrase referring to superficial appeasement. It is attributed to Juvenal, a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE, and is used c ...

: satisfaction of shallow or immediate desires of the populace at the expense of good policy; also, the erosion of civic duty and the public life in a populace. * government in the sunshine: a government which keeps all its records and documents open and easily accessible by the public. * lame duck: a politician who has lost an election, or who is serving their last term in an office where the law limits the number of times they may succeed themselves, and is simply waiting for their term to expire. *

melting pot The melting pot is a monocultural metaphor for a heterogeneous society becoming more homogeneous, the different elements "melting together" with a common culture; an alternative being a homogeneous society becoming more heterogeneous throug ...

: a society in which all outsiders assimilate to one social norm. *

salad bowl A salad bowl is a serving dish for salad. It can also refer to: * Salad bowl (cultural idea), a cultural idea referring to the United States * Salad Bowl (game), a defunct, annual, post-season college football bowl game * Salad Bowl strike, a seri ...

: a society in which cultural groups retain their unique attributes (opposite of melting pot theory). *

spin (public relations) In public relations and politics, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through knowingly providing a biased interpretation of an event or campaigning to influence public opinion about some organization or public figure. While traditional publi ...

: a heavily biased portrayal of an event or situation. * turkeys voting for Christmas: Acting against one's own interests with no conceivable gain. *

witch-hunt A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The Witch trials in the early modern period, classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and European Colon ...

: a hysterical pursuit of political enemies.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Political Metaphors Political terminology