| 释义 |
roorback U.S.|ˈrʊəbæk|
Also -bach, roarback.
[The name of the fictitious author Baron von Roorback (see quot. 1864).]
A false report or slander invented for political purposes.
[1844Republican Sentinel (Richmond, Va.) 4 Oct. 3/3 The rapid succession of events in the ‘Roorback’ line, has satisfied us, that the whole matter is a quiz or a forgery.] 1855I. C. Pray Mem. J. G. Bennett 368 Among the efforts made to defeat the election of Mr. Polk was one to which allusion is frequently made in political discussion, politicians speaking of a political lie as a ‘Roorback’. 1864Webster, Roorbach, a forgery or fictitious story published for purposes of political intrigue. [Note. The word originated in 1844, when such a forgery was published, purporting to be an extract from the ‘Travels of Baron Roorbach’.] 1870L. Baugh To Voters of Washington County (broadside), Beware of ‘Roarbacks’ on the eve of the election. 1884Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 6 Sept., The Herald and Globe abound in roorbacks which are designed to influence the vote in Maine. 1913A. B. Reeve Poisoned Pen xii. 367 Billy McLoughlin knows how to make the best use of such a roorback on the eve of an election. 1947Chicago Daily News 27 Mar. 6/1 The roorback stage of the closing days of the campaign broke wide open today with appeals to racial and religious prejudice coming to the surface in many sections of the city. 1963R. I. McDavid Mencken's Amer. Lang. 180 Since the exposure of the fraud actually helped Polk, it is sometimes spelled roarback. |