swiftboat
To attack a politician with specious claimsTo attack a politician with specious claims.
Meaning
2 senses(US, derogatory, transitive)To attack a politician with specious claims.
(broadly)To smear; to attack someone or something's reputation using slander, misrepresentation, or false accusations.
Origin
Uncertain: Possibly, swift + boat, or possibly based on an acronym for Shallow Water InshoUncertain: Possibly, swift + boat, or possibly based on an acronym for Shallow Water Inshore Fast Tactical Craft. The use as a political term derives from a smear campaign against John Kerry when Texas tycoon Robert J. Perry hired several Navy swiftboat veterans to form the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which questioned the legitimacy of Kerry's status as a war hero.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
swiftboats, swiftboating, swiftboated, swiftboated| Base form | swiftboat · to swiftboat |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | swiftboats |
| Present participle | swiftboating |
| Past simple | swiftboated |
| Past participle | swiftboated |
regular · Lesson
Word family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.