same old politricks
- noun
- Slang
:
las mismas viejas artimañas
- She saw through the same old politricks that the candidate was using to win support.
Examples
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People are growing disillusioned with the same old politricks every time there's a campaign.
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It's just the same old politricks we've seen for years.
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After decades of the same old politricks, voters demanded real change.
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Why do they always resort to same old politricks?
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After decades of the same old politricks, voters demanded real change.
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People are growing disillusioned with the same old politricks every time there's a campaign.
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She saw through the same old politricks that the candidate was using to win support.
Synonyms
12
6.0
Secret dishonest actions that harm or make someone look bad, often in politics and business
9
6.0
A set of careful actions people use to gain power in politics
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The nonce form 'politricks' is a clear blend of 'politics' + 'tricks', so its meaning (deceptive or manipulative political behavior) is recoverable from the constituents; 'same old' further signals repeated/familiar behavior. However, because 'politricks' is a creative, nonstandard pun rather than a regular morphological compound, a B1 learner might not automatically recognise the play on words or the intended evaluative nuance without exposure. For these reasons the expression is partially but not fully transparent.
Etymology
Same old politricks plays on the words politics and tricks. It paints the image of politicians using the same small tricks again and again, so it means 'familiar and dishonest political behavior'.