machine politician
- noun
- /məˈʃin ˌpɒlɪˈtɪʃən/
- Offensive
:
cacique
- When I first got interested in politics, my mentor was a "machine politician"—a Democratic district leader in "Boss" Buckley's Bronx.
Examples
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Many voters were frustrated by the machine politician who prioritized his party's power over the needs of the community.
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First, the President has the appreciation of free speech that one would expect from a Chicago Machine politician, which is to say, none.
Blog text (1) -
As a seasoned machine politician, he skillfully navigates the political landscape to secure his own interests.
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The machine politician was known for making deals behind the scenes to benefit his allies rather than his constituents.
Synonyms
3
8.6
A politician who works for their party or friends to benefit themselves
1
9.9
A local person who gets votes for a political party by offering favors
Antonyms
How Controlled
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun combination is partly compositional: 'machine' evokes automation or algorithmic control and 'politician' names the agent, so a learner can infer a politician influenced or run by machines. However, the specific nuance that strategy or messaging is produced by algorithms is a metaphorical extension and a relatively novel coinage, so the exact sense may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Machine politician comes from the idea of a political machine — a strong, well-organized group that moves votes and favors like parts of a machine. A machine politician is seen as one of those parts, acting to keep the group's power and help its private interests, so the phrase means 'a politician controlled by a party group for personal advantage'.