Etymology of the Day: Strategery

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Monika Bauerlein,
CEO

Dear Reader,

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December is make-or-break for Mother Jones’ fundraising, and in "No Cute Headlines or Manipulative BS," we hope that giving it to you as matter-of-fact as we can will work to raise the $350,000 we need to raise this month. Donations make up 74 percent of our budget this year, and all online gifts will be matched and go twice as far until we hit our goal.

My incidental use of the George Bushism “strategery” in a post this morning sparked a Twitter exchange which produced an interesting factlet: George Bush didn’t invent the word. Here it is in an 1845 short story by Mark Lemon, the founder of Punch, titled “Never Trust to Outward Appearances”:

The particular strategery spoken of here involves one Caleb Botts, who was negotiating to marry away his daughter Fanny for his own benefit, but eventually gets outsmarted. I just thought you’d all like to know.

UPDATE: Sorry. I’m reminded in comments that “strategery” was invented by Will Farrell in an SNL spoof of George Bush. As happens so often, fiction replaces reality in our memories.