Dictionary

Quaylism en · NOUN

Etymology

From Quayle + -ism.

Meanings

1. A characteristic phrase or statement made by Dan Quayle (born 1947), American retired politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993.
   • So, even though the quote was misinterpreted, the “Gore invented Internet” virus has spread far and wide, distributed by daily newspapers and talk shows around the world, without anyone confirming its veracity before passing it along. Such misinformation then becomes the latest one-liner, just as we used to smirk at the so-called “Quaylisms.” I now wonder how many of THOSE statements were really made by the former Vice President. 2000 June, David D. Thornburg, “The Deadliest Virus of All”, in Shift Control: Reflections on Education, Technology, and the Lives of Today’s Students, published 2002, →ISBN, page 105:
   • Yes, perhaps George W. Bush could mangle the English language with aplomb, but Dan Quayle was able to take well-known phrases and destroy their syntax, able to take obvious occasions to make the exactly wrong statement, able to make a verbal gaffe heard around the world before the Internet was there to forward it. He was a gift to comedians and satirists, who were thrilled with the possibilities of four years of Quaylisms. 2012, Alison Dagnes, “Mirroring the Political Climate: Satire in History”, in A Conservative Walks Into a Bar: The Politics of Political Humor, New York, N.Y.: Palgrave Macmillan, →ISBN, page 119:
   • Three of these sentences were spoken by George W. Bush. Which one is a classic Quaylism from 1989? A. “If we do not succeed, then we run the risk of failure.” B. “I am a person who recognizes the fallacy of humans.” C. “A leadership is someone who brings people together.” D. “It’s important for us to explain to our nation that life is important.” ANSWER: A. 2004, Paul Slansky, “Quiz #11: Bushspeak #2”, in The George W. Bush Quiz Book, New York, N.Y.: Broadway Books, →ISBN, page 81:
   • Verbal blunderers like Dan Quayle have provided notorious examples of the simplest type of wittlessism. Quaylisms (whether real or ascribed) impress by their extreme degree of witlessness. Normal inarticulateness or brainlessness will not do. Neither will pretentious mediocrity. Bumbling so common deserves little notice, but Quaylisms reach the sublime: they achieve Solomonic stupidity or Shakespearean inarticulateness. 2012, Gary Saul Morson, “[Witticisms and Witlessisms] Stupidity Shines”, in The Long and Short of It: From Aphorism to Novel, Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, →ISBN, page 96:
   • In August 1989, as President George Bush the First began defending a losing political battle to send humans to Mars, Vice President Dan Quayle, also the President’s chairman of the National Space Council, was quoted, Mars is essentially in the same orbit – Mars is somewhat the same distance from the sun, which is very important. We have seen pictures where there are canals, we believe, and water. If there is water, there is oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can breathe. Though lacking eloquence and complete accuracy, and often cited in a long list of famous Quaylisms, this profoundly simple paragraph actually demonstrates a grasp of some fundamentally important discoveries about Mars and its resources for possible future human habitats. 2004, Jeffrey S[tuart] Kargel, “[The Future Living Mars] Breathe easy”, in Mars – A Warmer, Wetter Planet (Springer-Praxis Books in Astronomy and Space Sciences), London: Springer; Chichester: Praxis, →ISBN, pages 440–441:
   • Quayle, I suppose, deserves credit for the cheerful fashion in which he tries to tell the full story of each of the verbal miscues of his vice presidential tenure. But this near-encyclopedic recital ended up reminding me of near-forgotten Quaylisms like the speech in American Samoa where he told the crowd that they looked like “happy campers.” 1994, Washington Monthly, volumes 26–27, page 56, column 1:
   • For a more comprehensive list of “Quaylisms” see Jeremy Solomon and Ken Brady, The Dan Quayle Quiz Book: For People Who Think They Are Smarter Than the Vice-President (Boston: Little, Brown, 1989). 1990, Joseph A. Pika, “Bush, Quayle, and the New Vice Presidency”, in Michael Nelson, editor, The Presidency and the Political System, 3rd edition, Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, →ISBN, page 527:
   • During his vice presidency, Quayle became noted for making unfortunate remarks in public, and a large number of stories were circulated about things he had said. Many of these so-called ‘Quaylisms’ are not genuine. 1994, “QUAYLE, DAN”, in Bloomsbury Treasury of Quotations, London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, →ISBN, page 590, column 1:
   • When Dan Quayle misspelled potato, the whole world mocked: ‘He can’t even spell potato! What else can’t he do?’ Of course, the poor man already had form. The Veep’s special way with the English language was something to savour/savor — viz these choice Quaylisms: • We understand the importance of having the bondage between the parent and the child. 2018, Gyles Brandreth, “Spelling Is Big Potatoes”, in Have You Eaten Grandma? Or, the Life-Saving Importance of Correct Punctuation, Grammar and Good English, London: Michael Joseph, →ISBN:
   • Second banana Dan Quayle’s tongue tangles were so numerous that they spawned an actual periodical that anthologized his Quaylisms. 2000, Richard Lederer, “[A Pleasury of Bloopers] Politicians Incorrect”, in The Bride of Anguished English: A Bonus of Bloopers, Blunders, Botches, and Boo-Boos, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, →ISBN, page 31:
   • When I began my research for the Dan Quayle interview, I went to the Internet, and the first quote to jump out at me went like this: “I was recently on a tour of Latin America, and the only regret I have was that I didn’t study Latin harder in school so I could converse with those people.” What? I wondered if these “Quaylisms” were made up by those who have nothing better to do than to criticize the former vice president. 1997, Ann Liguori, “Dan Quayle”, in A Passion for Golf: Celebrity Musings About the Game, Dallas, Tex.: Taylor Publishing, →ISBN, page 243:

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