Smoke-filled room

Smoke-filled room

In U.S. political slang, a smoke-filled room is a secret political gathering or decision-making process. The phrase is generally used to suggest a cabal of powerful or well-connected individuals meeting privately to nominate a dark horse candidate or make some other decision without regard for the will of the public. The origin of the term is an Associated Press report describing the process by which Warren G. Harding was nominated as Republican candidate for the 1920 Presidential Election. After many indecisive votes, Harding, an unlikely and little-known candidate, was chosen by Republican senators and party power-brokers in a private meeting at the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago. [Wolfe, Gerard R., "Chicago In and Around the Loop: Walking Tours of Architecture and History", 1996, McGraw-Hill, p.176.] [ [http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/3217.html Smoke-Filled Room ] ]

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  • smoke-filled room — smoke filled rooms N COUNT (disapproval) If you talk about a decision being made in a smoke filled room, you mean that it is made by a small group of people in a private meeting, rather than in a more democratic or open way. He liked negotiation… …   English dictionary

  • smoke-filled room — smoke′ filled room′ n. a place, as a hotel room, for conducting secret negotiations, devising strategy, etc • Etymology: 1915–20, amer …   From formal English to slang

  • smoke-filled room — n used to talk about a place where plans or decisions are made secretly by a small group of powerful people rather than in an open way used especially in newspapers …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • smoke-filled room — [ ,smouk fıld rum ] noun count MAINLY JOURNALISM a place where powerful people make important decisions …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • smoke-filled room — ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun : a hotel room in which a small group of politicians carry on negotiations meet in a smoke filled room to decide on … men and measures D.D.McKean * * * /smohk fild , fild / a place, as a hotel room, for conducting secret… …   Useful english dictionary

  • smoke-filled room — UK [ˌsməʊk fɪld ˈruːm] / US [ˌsmoʊk fɪld ˈrum] noun [countable] Word forms smoke filled room : singular smoke filled room plural smoke filled rooms mainly journalism a place where powerful people make important decisions …   English dictionary

  • smoke-filled room — n. a room where a small group of people make important decisions. (Usually used in reference to political parties.) □ The smoke filled rooms are still producing the candidates for most offices, even as we approach the year two thousand. □ The… …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • smoke-filled room — noun Date: 1920 a room (as in a hotel) in which a small group of politicians carry on negotiations …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • smoke-filled room — /smohk fild , fild / a place, as a hotel room, for conducting secret negotiations, effecting compromises, devising strategy, etc. [1915 20] * * * …   Universalium

  • (a) smoke-filled room — a smoke filled ˈroom idiom (disapproving) a decision that people describe as being made in a smoke filled room is made by a small group of people at a private meeting, rather than in an open and ↑democratic way Main entry: ↑smokeidiom …   Useful english dictionary

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