English

A stem-winding watch

Noun

stem-winder ‎(plural stem-winders)

1. A watch that is wound up by turning a small knob (at the stem)
2. (US) A rousing speech, especially by a politician
3. (US) Someone who gives such speeches, a great orator.
4. (US, proscribed) A boring, interminable speech.
   • 2000, Bill Schneider and Keating Holland, “What to look for Thursday at the Democratic National Convention”, August 17, 2000, CNN, “Clinton comparisons”:^[2]

     Or – heaven forbid – the Bill Clinton of 1988, who gave a tedious stemwinder in 1988 that has gone down in the books as the worst nominating speech in recent memory?

5. (US, obsolete) Top-notch, first-rate.

Usage notes

Note contradictory senses of “rousing speech” (earlier sense) and “boring speech” (later sense); use in the latter sense may be proscribed as a corruption, and is a folk etymology.

See also

(rousing speech):

• rabblerousing
• tubthumping

References

1. 1 2 “Stemwinder”, Michael Quinion, World Wide Words
2. 1 2 3 Larimore, Rachael (2004-08-31), “What's a Stemwinder?”, in Slate, retrieved 2012-10-23
3. ↑ “stem” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).
4. ↑ “Stemwinder: Cranked up.”, The Word Detective

Anagrams

• midwestern, Midwestern