mudslinger means one who casts aspersions or insults; especially a political candidate who makes negative statements about the opposition. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 86 out of 100.
Why “mudslinger” is a great word
A person who makes malicious and damaging accusations against an opponent, particularly in a political context. From *mud* (meaning 'scandalous or defamatory allegations') and *slinger* ('one who throws or hurls'), the term first surfaced in the 1880s. Unlike a 'muckraker,' who excavates systemic rot for reform, or a 'critic,' who offers dispassionate evaluation, a mudslinger trades exclusively in the currency of personal ruin. It is the cold smear smeared across a morning headline, the sly whisper designed to cling after the facts are scrubbed away, and the sour, metallic scent left in the air after a sudden downpour in a dusty street—the deliberate act of soiling another's name, a stain far more permanent than the mud from which it was made.
Etymology
From mud + slinger.
noun
- One who casts aspersions or insults; especially a political candidate who makes negative statements about the opposition.“Yet, even while modern mudslinging has grown more rampant […] the phenomenon is hardly new.”
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