Tammany Society
- noun
- /ˈtæməni səˈsaɪəti/
- US
:
Tammany Society
- During the late 1800s, the Tammany Society orchestrated many corrupt schemes to maintain political power in New York City.
Examples
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The Tammany Society wielded immense political power in New York City for decades.
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Many reformers fought against the Tammany Society and its tradition of corruption.
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Boss Tweed was famously associated with the Tammany Society during its most notorious period.
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The Tammany Society was influential in New York politics.
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Many politicians were associated with the Tammany Society.
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The Tammany Society was known for its network of patronage that influenced countless elections in New York's history.
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Opposition to the Tammany Society grew as citizens became increasingly aware of its corrupt practices.
Synonyms
1
8.8
A powerful Democratic Party group in New York City famous for control and dishonest actions
A powerful New York City political group known for corruption
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositional: 'Tammany' is a proper name referring to a specific political group and 'society' means an association or organization, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it denotes that political organization. The full cultural connotations (e.g. corruption/patronage) rely on specific historical knowledge of the name, but the basic referential meaning is transparently derived from the parts.
Etymology
The name Tammany Society comes from Tammany, a Native American leader early Americans admired and called a 'saint', and Society simply meant a club. One New York club kept that name but grew into a powerful city political group that gave favors and took bribes, so Tammany Society came to mean a political organization known for 'corruption'.