stem-winder

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 8, 2012 is: stem-winder • \STEM-wyne-der\  • noun 1 : a stem-winding watch 2 : one that is first-rate of its kind; especially : a stirring speech Examples: Stuart is a stem-winder as a defense attorney. "In his 48-minute stem-winder Wednesday, the former president showed everyone why he's a master political communicator." - From an article by Linda Feldmann in The Christian Science Monitor, September 6, 2012 Did you know? The stem-winder is a watch wound by means of a stem, as opposed to the older method of winding with a key. The stem-winder was introduced to the marketplace in the late 19th century, and it wound up being such a hit with consumers that people soon turned to using the mechanism's name for exceptional people or things in general. Before "stem-winder" referred to a kind of watch, it was used in colloquial English (especially in the western part of the United States) as a word for a geared logging locomotive. Another name for such a locomotive is "corkscrew." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.