ward-heeler
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈwɔrdˌhilər/
- Offensive
:
operador político local (ofensivo)
- During the election, the ward heeler promised favors to secure votes from local residents.
Examples
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They conjured up menacing visions of priests and Irish ward heelers leading ignorant Catholics, sheep-like, to do the bidding of Rome, Tammany Hall, or both.
Academic text (1991) -
Why are you acting like some dumb ward heeler?
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He's just a cheap ward heeler.
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Well, I was just wondering what would happen... if all Gil Warren's ward heelers and poll watchers and repeaters... failed to show up on Election Day.
-
Behind and all around, various ward heelers and small-time politicians, representing both the Know-Nothing candidate Barker and Tammany's Fernando Wood.
Fiction book (2002) -
This is one strange dude—part narcissist, part Chicago ward heeler, part neo-Alinskyite Marxist, part talk show host smoothie, part nowhere man.
Blog text (1) -
As a ward heeler, she used her connections to help the party win the election.
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The corrupt ward heeler was known for trading political influence for personal gain.
Synonyms
100
5.4
A person who uses secret plans to gain power in a group
3
8.6
A politician who works for their party or friends to benefit themselves
1
9.9
A loyal political worker who does unpleasant or dishonest tasks for a political leader
A person in politics who serves a powerful party group for personal gain
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Ward-heeler joins ward ('a local voting area') and heeler (from heel, which can mean 'to follow' or a 'troublemaker'). A helpful way to remember it is to picture someone who 'heels' through a ward doing small favors and pressure to win votes, so a ward-heeler today is a local political worker who delivers votes for a party.