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stemwinder

American  
[stem-wahyn-der] / ˈstɛmˈwaɪn dər /
Or stem-winder

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.


Etymology

Origin of stemwinder

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

From Salon

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.

From New York Times

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

From Salon

“Pat and I made a point of working as partners. He always knew the right time to break up tense negotiations with a stemwinder of an old Irish joke,” McConnell said last month in a tribute speech.

From Washington Post

Billed as “The Blair Witch Project” meets “Midsommar,” Swedish author Sten’s creepy stemwinder tells of a badly crowdfunded documentary crew working on a film about the remote Swedish ghost town of Silvertjärn, flashing back to the bizarre, horrific events 60 years before that led to the mining town’s abandonment.

From Seattle Times