Teflon

[tef-lon]

Trademark.

a fluorocarbon polymer with slippery, nonsticking properties; polytetrafluoroethylene.

adjective

characterized by imperviousness to blame or criticism: a Teflon politician.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for teflon

Contemporary Examples of teflon

We are talking not of a Teflon Rupert, a man against whom nothing sticks.
Murdoch on the Rocks: How a Lone Reporter Revealed the Mogul's Tabloid Terror Machine
Clive Irving
August 25, 2014
Whether he is just as lucky for the rest of his legal battles will be the true test of the strength of his Teflon shield.
Berlusconi Escapes Corruption Conviction: What He Faces Next
Barbie Latza Nadeau
February 25, 2012
Silvio Berlusconi may have lost his job as prime minister, but his Teflon shield apparently still works.
Berlusconi Escapes Corruption Conviction: What He Faces Next
Barbie Latza Nadeau
February 25, 2012
Reagan had his Teflon; Romney has his inviolably immaculate white shirts.
Trump Endorsed Romney Because It Was Like Calling to Like
Lee Siegel
February 3, 2012
A fugitive since 1995 who seemed untouchable, he is also compared to the “Teflon Don” of New York, John Gotti.
Bulger's FBI Ties Enrage Cops
Rikki Klieman
October 21, 2011

Historical Examples of teflon

We don't know the formula yet, but it is as much more stable than our teflon as teflon is than corn-meal mush.
Masters of Space
Edward Elmer Smith

British Dictionary definitions for teflon

Teflon

noun

trademark polytetrafluoroethylene, when used in nonstick cooking vessels

adjective

facetious denoting the ability to evade blamethe Teflon president

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

Word Origin and History for teflon

Teflon

commercially important synthetic polymer, 1945, proprietary name registered in U.S. by du Pont, from chemical name (poly)te(tra)fl(uoroethylene) + arbitrary ending -on; popularized as a coating of non-stick pans in 1960s; metaphoric extension, especially in reference to U.S. President Ronald Reagan, is attested from an Aug. 2, 1983, speech on the floor of Congress by Pat Schroeder.