placeman

American  

[pleys-muhn] / ˈpleɪs mən /

noun

British.

placemen plural

1. a person appointed to a position, especially one in the government, as a reward for political support of an elected official.

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placeman British  

/ ˈpleɪsmən /

noun

1. derogatory a person who holds a public office, esp for private profit and as a reward for political support

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• placemanship
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• placemen
  plural

Etymology

Origin of placeman

First recorded in 1735–45; place + -man

Example Sentences

Mr Sharif has installed a loyal placeman, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, previously the minister for natural resources, as interim prime minister.

From Economist • Aug. 3, 2017

Meanwhile, far from being a Whelan placeman, Cryer was another of his targets.

From The Guardian • Mar. 21, 2010

Frederic, Prince of Wales, was the first object of all needy politicians, and Rigby for a while attached himself to this feeble personage with all the zeal of a prospective placeman.

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine — Volume 55, No. 340, February, 1844 by Various

She was well aware of our matron's inveteracy against her and her establishment, and she resented it as a placeman resents the efforts of a radical.

From St. Ronan's Well by Scott, Walter, Sir

He went once, at all events, to the gallery of the House of Commons, where he witnessed an altercation between a placeman and an alderman—two well-known types still in our midst.

From Res Judicat? Papers and Essays by Birrell, Augustine