| 释义 |
ˈWatergate3
The name of a building in Washington D.C., containing the national headquarters of the Democratic Party, which was burgled on 17 June 1972 by persons connected with the Republican administration; used attrib. and absol. with reference to this event and the circumstances leading to the resignation of President R. M. Nixon in 1974. Also transf., denoting a political or commercial scandal on a large scale.
The element -gate has been used in recent times, preceded by the name of a relevant person, etc., to denote an actual or alleged scandal usually of a political or commercial kind: see -gate.
1972New Republic 19 Aug. 4 The very name, ‘the Watergate caper’, tells how funny it is. 1972Time 28 Aug. 20 By coming down hard on Mitchell, the Democrats hope they can make Watergate a devasting—and durable—campaign issue. 1973Freedom 2 June 1/2 Anything the Americans do we can do better. We have produced our own miniature Watergate plus two new magic ingredients—sex and drugs. 1973‘H. Pentecost’ Beautiful Dead (1975) iii. i. 141 That's the way it goes in any kind of criminal conspiracy to hide the truth. It's like a Watergate. More and more people become involved, more and more crimes are committed to hide an initial truth. 1974E. Ambler Dr. Frigo ii. 101 A Central American Watergate you want now? 1974Times 27 July 15/7 Your reviewer..sums up the current Chichester production of Oedipus Tyrannus as a ‘Theban Watergate drama’... Watergate conspiracies were..frequent in the history of classical Greece. 1976Washington Post 26 Jan. a 2/6 ‘The news has been inundated by a financial Watergate of leaked disclosures of troubled banks and bank holding companies,’ said Reuss. 1977M. Edelman Political Lang. viii. 150 Watergate, the Pentagon Papers, and revelations of the deception of Congress by officials of the executive branch and by intelligence agencies have made us sensitive to lying in high places. 1980J. Melville Chrysanthemum Chain 175 What about a Watergate style investigation? 1982M. Russell Rainblast xiii. 125 The damage is done. Fleet Street gets the signal and..everyone's sniffing the stench of another Watergate.
Hence as v. intr. (and trans.), to take part in political conspiracy or in activities directly or indirectly associated with Watergate, as the use of hidden listening devices, concealment of corrupt activities, suppression of evidence, etc. Hence ˈWatergater; ˈWatergating vbl. n.
1973Birmingham (Alabama) Post-Herald 28 Apr. a–4/3 In the political machinery of the future we may hear of a political party ‘Watergating’ another party. Ibid. a–4/4 They will be asking the voters to remember ‘Watergate’, for the GOP's might be Watergating again. 1973Black Panther 12 May 2/3 The issue is not how high up Watergate goes. The issue is how far down watergating goes. The bug on our telephones, and yours, is the issue. Ibid. 21 July 2/3 (heading) David Hilliard, victim of Watergaters. 1974N. Freeling Dressing of Diamond 20 ‘And if you try to keep something from the press they're apt to be vengeful.’ ‘You mean Watergating.’ ‘Right... It's easily concluded that an effort is being made to cover something, for personal or political considerations.’ 1975G. Seymour Harry's Game vi. 91 Not much eavesdropping in here. Need to Watergate the place. 1976Publishers Weekly 1 Mar. 9/1 ‘When I [sc. Archibald Cox] was Watergating, for instance’ (this appears to be a coinage of his own, but he rolls it off the tongue as if it were common usage). 1976Times Lit. Suppl. 2 July 815/2 His followers perform experiments that are sadistic, pointless, and repetitive, and are given to watergating the evidence (‘Not that there was anything wrong on those tapes’). 1979N.Y. Rev. Bks. 8 Feb. 10/4 Perhaps what Jerry Ford should have done on the day he pardoned Nixon was to pardon all the Watergaters and all the Vietnam resisters in one controversially magnanimous act. |