stemwinder

Or stem-wind·er

[stem-wahyn-der]

noun

1. a stemwinding watch.

2. Older Slang.

   1. something remarkable of its kind.

   2. a rousing speech, especially a stirring political address.

   3. a stirring orator.

Word History and Origins

Origin of stemwinder¹

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70; stem ¹ + winder

Example Sentences

Trump spoke for an hour and 40 minutes, topping former President Clinton’s record-setting stemwinder given at the 2000 State of the Union, which ran for an hour and 28 minutes.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The usual parade of star elected officials sauntered past, but this time most opted to forgo the standard stemwinder for a tight five.

Read more on Salon

Trump’s closing-night speech on Thursday — rumored to be a lengthy stemwinder on a 19th-century scale — will no doubt be intended to rouse and unite the GOP faithful and send them forth to victory over whatever forces they believe are oppressing them.

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From the outset of the hearing, Mr. Rhodes’ lawyers — Phillip Linder and James L. Bright — were constrained in their efforts to ask for leniency, unable to fully claim that Mr. Rhodes was remorseful or no longer presented a threat to the government, knowing that his stemwinder statement to the court was coming.

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His rhetoric during his now-typical stemwinder wasn't just whiny, but downright Koresh-like in its apocalyptic tones.

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