Words invented by specific presidents
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Words Invented by Specific Presidents — Daily trivia Tuesday, April 14, 2026: questions and answers
All 10 questions with answers and explanations. Play this daily
Q 01The 'New Deal' programs and reforms are most famously associated with which president?
- AWoodrow Wilson
- BFranklin D. Roosevelt
- CLyndon B. Johnson
- DJohn F. Kennedy
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Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt promised 'a new deal for the American people' in his 1932 nomination acceptance speech; speechwriter Samuel Rosenman slipped the phrase into the draft at the last minute.
Q 02Which president's campaign promised a 'return to normalcy', a word critics mocked as mangled 'normality'?
- AWarren G. Harding
- BCalvin Coolidge
- CWilliam McKinley
- DWilliam Howard Taft
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Warren G. Harding
Warren G. Harding, a former newspaper editor, insisted 'normalcy' was in his dictionary and 'normality' was not; his speech asked for 'not nostrums, but normalcy'.
Q 03Which president kept a desk sign reading "The Buck Stops Here"?
- AJohn F. Kennedy
- BCalvin Coolidge
- CLyndon B. Johnson
- DHarry S. Truman
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Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman's sign plays on 'passing the buck', said to come from poker, where a marker passed to the next dealer; the sign now belongs to his presidential library.
Q 04Which US president is associated with the political use of 'stonewall' during a scandal?
- ABill Clinton
- BLyndon B. Johnson
- CRichard Nixon
- DRonald Reagan
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Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon's Watergate affair made 'stonewall' political shorthand for refusing to comment; William Safire traced the word to a defensive style of batting in Australian cricket.
Q 05Critics coined the term 'kitchen cabinet' for the unofficial advisers of which president?
- AAndrew Jackson
- BJohn Adams
- CJames Monroe
- DJames Madison
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Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson's opponents coined 'kitchen cabinet' by 1832 for the informal advisers he trusted over his official cabinet, implying they wielded undue influence.
Q 06Which president warned of the 'military-industrial complex' in his farewell address?
- ARonald Reagan
- BDwight D. Eisenhower
- CJohn F. Kennedy
- DLyndon B. Johnson
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Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower, a five-star general, gave the warning its bite; a late-1960 staff memo had already spoken of a war based industrial complex.
Q 07The phrase 'bully pulpit', for a public office that lets one speak out and be heard, is attributed to which president?
- AWoodrow Wilson
- BTheodore Roosevelt
- CWilliam Howard Taft
- DAbraham Lincoln
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Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt coined 'bully pulpit' when 'bully' meant 'superb', so he was calling the presidency a wonderful platform, not a place for bullying.
Q 08Which everyday verb, meaning to make something seem unimportant, first appeared in Thomas Jefferson's writing?
- ABelittle
- BDiminish
- CDisparage
- DDownplay
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Belittle
Belittle first appears in Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia, aimed at Buffon's claim that American animals were smaller; English critics execrated the word.
Q 09'OK' spread nationwide through its association with which presidential candidate?
- AHenry Clay
- BWilliam Henry Harrison
- CJohn Tyler
- DMartin Van Buren
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Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren's backers said OK stood for 'Old Kinderhook', his hometown nickname, and formed OK Clubs; Whigs retorted it came from Andrew Jackson's bad spelling, and Van Buren lost.
Q 10Which president championed 'rugged individualism' in a 1928 campaign speech?
- ACalvin Coolidge
- BWilliam Howard Taft
- CHerbert Hoover
- DWoodrow Wilson
Show answer
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover used 'rugged individualism' against plans he branded 'state socialism', though he said the phrase wasn't his own; it appears in print by 1897.
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