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logrolling - 8 dictionary results

log⋅roll⋅ing

  [lawg-roh-ling, log-]
Use logrolling in a Sentence
–noun
1. U.S. Politics. the exchange of support or favors, esp. by legislators for mutual political gain as by voting for each other's bills.
2. cronyism or mutual favoritism among writers, editors, or critics, as in the form of reciprocal flattering reviews; back scratching.
3. the action of rolling logs to a particular place.
4. the action of rotating a log rapidly in the water by treading upon it, esp. as a competitive sport; birling.
Origin:
1785–95, Americanism; log 1 + rolling

log⋅roll

  [lawg-rohl, log-] U.S. Politics.
–verb (used with object)
1. to procure the passage of (a bill) by logrolling.
–verb (used without object)
2. to engage in political logrolling.
Origin:
1825–35, Americanism; back formation from logrolling

Related forms:
logroller, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To logrolling
birl·ing   (bûr'lĭng)   
n.  A game of skill, especially among lumberjacks, in which two competitors try to balance on a floating log while spinning it with their feet. Also called logrolling.
log·roll   (lôg'rōl', lŏg'-)   
v.   log·rolled, log·roll·ing, log·rolls

v.   tr.
To work toward the passage of (legislation) by logrolling.
v.   intr.
  1. To engage in political logrolling.
  2. To birl.
log'roll'er n.
log·roll·ing   (lôg'rō'lĭng, lŏg'-)   
n.  
  1. The exchanging of political favors, especially the trading of influence or votes among legislators to achieve passage of projects that are of interest to one another.
  2. The exchanging of favors or praise, as among artists, critics, or academics.
  3. See birling.

[From the early American practice of neighbors gathering to help clear land by rolling off and burning felled timber.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Logrolling

Log"roll`ing\, n. 1. (Logging) The act or process of rolling logs from the place where they were felled to the stream which floats them to the sawmill or to market. In this labor neighboring camps of loggers combine to assist each other in turn. --Longfellow. [U.S.]

2. Hence: A combining to assist another in consideration of receiving assistance in return; -- sometimes used of a disreputable mode of accomplishing political schemes or ends. [Cant, U.S.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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logrolling

In politics, advance agreement by legislators to vote for one another's bills. Logrolling is most common when legislators are trying to secure votes for bills that will benefit their home districts. For example, a group of congressmen from the Middle West pushing for higher dairy prices and a group of southern congressmen supporting higher tobacco prices might make a logrolling agreement in order to get both bills passed.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Main Entry: log·roll·ing
Pronunciation: 'log-"rO-li[ng], 'läg-
Function: noun
Etymology: from the former American custom of neighbors assisting one another in rolling logs into a pile for burning
: the practice of including in a legislative bill unrelated provisions to attract a wider base of support and insure passage of the bill as a whole
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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