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roorback

or roor·bach

[ roor-bak ]
/ ˈrʊərˌbæk /
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noun
a false and more or less damaging report circulated for political effect, usually about a candidate seeking an office.
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Origin of roorback

An Americanism first recorded in 1844, after a fictitious Baron von Roorback, in whose travelogue occurred an account of an incident damaging to the character of James K. Polk

Words nearby roorback

room mother, room service, room temperature, roomy, Rooney, roorback, roose, Roosevelt, Roosevelt Corollary, Roosevelt Dam, Roosevelt, Eleanor
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

British Dictionary definitions for roorback

roorback
/ (ˈrʊəˌbæk) /
noun
US a false or distorted report or account, used to obtain political advantage

Word Origin for roorback

C19: after Baron von Roorback, invented author of an imaginary Tour through the Western and Southern States (1844), which contained a passage defaming James K. Polk
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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