Coiner of Weasel Words
From Old Granny to Uncle Jumbo, His Accidency to Grandfather’s Hat, here are a few presidential nicknames, and how the commanders in chief came by them.
1. GEORGE WASHINGTON: AMERICAN FABIUS
Our first commander in chief earned this nickname based on the strategy he used to fight the British in the Revolutionary War, named for a Roman dictator who avoided large battles to engage in small ones. (But Washington might not have even known about that general and his strategy until a year after he began using it!) Another great nickname: Sword of the Revolution.
2. JOHN ADAMS: OLD SINK OR SWIM
John Adams got this nickname from a speech he gave: “Sink or swim, survive or perish with my country, is my unalterable determination.”
3. THOMAS JEFFERSON: LONG TOM
At 6 feet 2.5 inches, Jefferson was six inches taller than the average height for men in his day, which earned him the nickname “Long Tom.”
4. JAMES MONROE: LAST OF THE COCKED HATS
The man behind the Monroe Doctrine was the last of the major politicians of his day to have fought in the Revolutionary War, during which the Revolutionary fighters apparently wore cocked hats.
5. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS: OLD MAN ELOQUENT
The second Adams to hold the office of president got the nickname during his time as a Congressman, for “his passionate support of freedom of speech and universal education, and especially for his strong arguments against slavery.”
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