Tammany Hall
1
8.8
- noun
- /ˈtæməni hɔl/
:
Tammany Hall
- Herbert L. Bruce, a Harlem restaurateur born in Barbados and educated in New York, became the first African American member of the executive committee of Tammany Hall with his election in 1935 as the leader of the 21st district.
- Tammany Hall political machine
- Tammany Hall boss
- Plunkitt of Tammany Hall
Examples
-
His father ran the Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank, which was closely allied with Irish political groups, Tammany Hall, and President Martin Van Buren's Democratic Party.
Fiction book (1991) -
Going back to Tammany Hall in the 19th century.
-
You know Boss Tweed ran Tammany Hall?
Blog text (22) -
Can you remember meeting Mayor William O'Dwyer at your apartment with some judges and the leaders of Tammany Hall?
-
Now all of a sudden he's running for mayor with Tammany Hall backing him up.
-
In the section on politics, I focus on the rise of machine politics, specifically New York's Tammany Hall and Boston's colorful ward politicians.
Academic text (2002) -
Yes, there were some cries of fraud against the Tammany Hall machine (the Tammany ticket won a sweeping victory, including the sheriff's race), but these were somewhat inevitable by this point and did not garner a great deal of notice.
Academic text (2011) -
Nast waged a total crusade to expose Tweed's (and Tammany Hall's) corruption and bring him down through satire.
Blog text (3) -
The influence of Tammany Hall was evident in many political decisions made in New York City during the early 20th century.
-
Many politicians sought the support of Tammany Hall to help secure their election victories in New York.
Synonyms
A powerful New York City political group known for corruption
A political group in the Democratic Party in New York City that used corruption to gain power
Surface Forms
Morphology
Tammany + Hall
Tammany Hall is a specific proper name for a historical political machine; its meaning (a powerful, often corrupt political organization) is not derivable from the constituent words 'Tammany' (a personal/organizational name) and 'hall' (a building). A B1 learner who knows the literal meanings would not predict the historical and political sense without prior cultural or historical knowledge, so the expression is opaque.
Etymology
Tammany Hall comes from the Tammany Society, a club named for a Native American leader, and the hall was their 'meeting place'. The club grew into a strong city political group that kept power by giving favors and jobs, so Tammany Hall now means a 'powerful, often corrupt, political organization'.