Wingnut is a term currently used in U.S. politics as a political epithet referring to anyone that is conservative or on the right. Moonbat is an analogous epithet aimed at extremists on the political left.[1] According to an article by New York Times language maven William Safire, "The prevailing put-down of right-wing bloggers is wingnuts; this has recently been countered by the vilification of left-wing partisans who use the Web as moonbats..."[1] It is generally believed to be an attenuation of the description "right-wing nut job" or "right-wing nut".
References
- ^ a b Safire, William. "On Language: Moonbats, wingnuts", New York Times/Intl. Herald-Tribune, 2006-09-03. Retrieved on 2007-03-18.
