policy wonk
7
7.9
- noun
- /ˈpɒlɪsi wɒŋk/
- Slang
:
experto en políticas
- Being a policy wonk, she spent hours analyzing the new legislation to understand its implications.
- politicians and policy wonks
- economists and policy wonks
- serious policy wonks
We have plenty of, we got more policy wonks than we can handle.
- We have plenty of, we got more policy wonks than we can handle.
- She is a policy wonk from Washington, DC.
Examples
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Bill Clinton was a domestic policy wonk who wound up trying to negotiate peace in the Middle East.
Blog text (23) -
The MSM loved the idea of Ryan as the serious, mature conservative policy wonk.
Blog text (32) -
I forgot: you hate policy-wonk stuff, so those numbers are not likely to move you.
Blog text (10) -
Ryan gained a reputation for being a policy wonk, a man with big ideas.
Blog text (9) -
"Ryan has a reputation for being a policy wonk, overwhelming people with facts and figures."
Blog text (21) -
She is a policy wonk from Washington, DC.
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Every sphere has its policy wonks who've already figured it all out, or so they think.
Blog text (32) -
The presumption inherent in the policy wonk's style is that mastery of information ensures good results.
Academic text (1997) -
Before the Humphrey Institute anointed him as a policy wonk, Mr. Weber was a professional politician.
Blog text (14) -
In their book The Comeback Kid, Charles Allen and Jonathan Portis observe that during the presidential campaign of 1992, Bill Clinton "became known as a 'policy wonk,' a politician who could spout data and statistics nonstop, a man with a quick answer for every question."
Academic text (1997)
Synonyms
18
8.7
A person who knows a lot about one subject and likes studying it
How Knowledgeable
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from 'policy' (plans or principles) + 'wonk' (someone deeply interested or expert in a field): together they denote a person who is especially into policy. This is a productive, compositional noun–noun formation (though 'wonk' is slangy), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
Policy wonk comes from older student slang for someone who studied a lot. One popular story says wonk is 'know' backwards, so a policy wonk is someone who loves and 'knows' the small facts and rules about government.