Dog Whistle Politics

Grant Barrett's Double-Tongued Word Wrester is one of my favorite sites. Grant, a hip lexicographer who works for Oxford University Press (as, among other things, the project editor of the Historical Dictionary of American Slang) uses his blog to "[record] undocumented or under-documented words from the fringes of English."

Each week I find at least one new gem. Here's a goodie:

dog whistle politics n. a concealed, coded, or unstated idea, usually divisive or politically dangerous, nevertheless understood by the intended voters. Also dog whistle issue.

(The expanded entry contains citations and source information.)