coattails effect

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Word: Coattails Effect

Part of Speech: Noun (used mainly in politics)

Definition: The "coattails effect" refers to a situation in an election where a popular candidate helps other candidates from the same political party by attracting voters. It’s like when someone rides on another person’s success or popularity to gain benefits.

Usage Instructions:

• The term is usually used in the context of elections and politics.
• It can describe how one candidate’s success can impact the success of others in the same party.

Example:

• "The candidate was so popular that he counted on the coattails effect to help his party members win their elections."

Advanced Usage:

• In political discussions, you might hear phrases like "riding the coattails" to describe a candidate who benefits from another's popularity without having strong support of their own.
• Analysts often discuss the coattails effect when evaluating election results, especially in presidential elections.

Word Variants:

• Coattail (noun): The literal tail of a coat, but in this context, it refers to the idea of one person’s success helping another.
• Coattail Candidate (noun): A candidate who benefits from the popularity of a more prominent candidate.

Different Meanings:

• Outside of politics, the term can also refer to any situation where one person's success helps others, but this usage is less common.

Synonyms:

• Beneficiary effect
• Political leverage

Related Idioms and Phrasal Verbs:

• Ride on someone’s coattails: This is an idiom that means to gain success or benefit from someone else's achievements.
  • Example: "She rode on her brother's coattails to get into the popular group at school."

Summary:

The coattails effect is a political term that describes how a popular candidate can help their party members win by attracting more voters. It can also be used in a broader context to describe how one person's success can benefit others.

Academic

Noun

1. (politics) the consequence of one popular candidate in an election drawing votes for other members of the same political party
   • he counted on the coattails effect to win him the election