stem-winder
English edit
Etymology edit
US, mid-late 19th century, originally referring to then-recent stem-wind watches (invented in 1840s, commercialized initially 1850s by Patek Philippe & Co.).[1][2] These were expensive, top-notch watches, hence generalized (1892[3]) to “top-notch”, particularly applied to speeches, or to the orator in question. Non-speech senses later fell out of use. Nuance of “rousing” speech possibly by analogy with watch being wound up (“tighten by winding, excite, rouse”).[4]
Circa 2000, later sense of “interminable speech” a folk etymology, in sense “a speech that lasts so long one must wind one’s watch”.[1][2]
Noun edit
stem-winder (plural stem-winders)
- A watch that is wound up by turning a small knob (at the stem).
- (US) A rousing speech, especially by a politician.
- (US) Someone who gives such speeches; a great orator.
- (US, proscribed) A boring, interminable speech.
- 2000, Bill Schneider and Keating Holland, “What to look for Thursday at the Democratic National Convention”, August 17, 2000, CNN, “Clinton comparisons”:[2]
- Or – heaven forbid – the Bill Clinton of 1988, who gave a tedious stemwinder in 1988 that has gone down in the books as the worst nominating speech in recent memory?
- 2000, Bill Schneider and Keating Holland, “What to look for Thursday at the Democratic National Convention”, August 17, 2000, CNN, “Clinton comparisons”:[2]
- (US, obsolete) Something top-notch or first-rate.
Usage notes edit
Note contradictory senses of “rousing speech” (earlier sense) and “boring speech” (later sense); use in the latter sense may be proscribed as a corruption, and is a folk etymology.
See also edit
(rousing speech):
References edit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “Stemwinder”, Michael Quinion, World Wide Words
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Larimore, Rachael (2004 August 31) “What's a Stemwinder?”, in Slate[1], retrieved 2012-10-23
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “stem”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ “Stemwinder: Cranked up.”, The Word Detective