George H. W. Bush.

George W. Bush.

A Bushism is any of a number of peculiar words, phrases, pronunciations, malapropisms, semantic or linguistic errors, and gaffes that have occurred in the public speaking of United States President George W. Bush and, before that, of his father George H. W. Bush.^[1][2] The term, a neologism, has become part of popular folklore, and is the basis of a number of websites and published books. It is often used to caricature the two presidents. Common characteristics include malapropisms, the creation of neologisms, and spoonerisms.

Some columnists"”including Molly Ivins, co-author of a book of Bushisms"” have suggested that Bush may have difficulty speaking "Washington English", and that he may be trying to cover his dialect by over-emphasizing words. Some have hypothesized that Bush is not familiar with some of the words that he feels he must use as president.^[3]

Bush's misuse of the English language has spawned dozens of books that document the phenomenon. The majority are written by Slate magazine editor Jacob Weisberg. The first, Bushisms, was released in 2002. The Bushism books have been received well around the world, with editions released in Germany, France, and Italy landing on best seller lists.^[4] A poem entitled Make the Pie Higher, composed entirely of Bushisms, was compiled by high school English teacher Dirk Schulze under the pseudonym of "Richard Thompson", as an example of a found poem for his students.^[5]

See also

• Dead Ringers
• Great Moments in Presidential Speeches, a daily Bushism segment on Late Show with David Letterman
• Internets
• List of political catch phrases
• Strategery, originally a Saturday Night Live parody of a Bushism
• U.S. Presidential IQ hoax
• Warren G. Harding, another American president given to making verbal gaffes
• Yoshiro Mori, a Japanese Prime Minister given to making verbal gaffes

Related linguistic elements

• Eggcorn
• Malapropism
• Neologism
• Yogiism

References

Further reading

• Frank, Justin A., Bush on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President (2004), ISBN 0-06-073670-4.
• Miller, Mark Crispin. The Bush Dyslexicon (2001), ISBN 0-393-04183-2.
• George W. Bushisms: The Accidental Wit and Wisdom of Our 43rd President. Ed. Jacob Weisberg. ISBN 0-7407-4456-9.
• Bushisms/President George Herbert Walker Bush in His Own Words New Republic. Workman Pub Co., May 1992, ISBN 1-56305-318-7
• George W. Bush -- On The Trips Of His Tongue -- A Linguistic Legacy. [1] B. Elwin Sherman. ISBN 978-1430317951.

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Bushisms

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

George W. Bush

• The Complete Bushisms Updated frequently. By Jacob Weisberg.
• DubyaSpeak.com
• "Pie Higher" at Snopes.com
• Bushism as a figure of speech
• Story in the Guardian
• Dayton Daily News
• About.com Bushisms Collection
• The Complete Bush Quotes Updated frequently by Est Nyboer from The White House website.
• Hail to the Chief, a song composed entirely of Bushisms by John McCutcheon.

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