Orthogonian

English Etymology Coined by Richard M. Nixon in 1930 from en grc ὀρθός straight, en grc γωνία corner, angle, + en -ian, to mean "straight shooter". Noun A member of the Orthogonian society, a social club at Whittier College founded by Richard M. Nixon in opposition to the wealthy elites at Whittier. en 2016 Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me Steven Hyden Orthogonians, like Nixon, saw themselves as hardworking "regular" people fighting against a powerful elite (personified by the Franklins) for status and wealth. en 2023 Richard Nixon: California's Native Son Paul Carter 40 Fellow Orthogonians considered him an idealist who emphasized Orthogonian rituals to develop moral behavior among the members. en 2023 George Allen: A Football Life Michael Richman Al Stoll, a longtime Orthogonian who graduated from Whittier in 1949, surmised that Nixon possibly started the Orthogonian Society to compensate for the fact that he was a nonfactor on the field. Adjective Pertaining to or characteristic of the Orthogonian society and its ethos of appealing to working-class values and opposition to a wealthy ruling elite. en 2011 Kennedy & Nixon: The Rivalry that Shaped Postwar America Chris Matthews Nixon would employ the same Orthogonian politics in his adult career. en 2015 Second Wind Dr. Bill Thomas, William H. Thomas 51 In place of "flower power" and "the struggle," America was offered what Rick Perstein in Nixonland calls an "Orthogonian” worldview. In its pure form, this ideal embraced the virtues of a productive, humble, and obedient adulthood. en 2016 Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me Steven Hyden Stone explored the Orthogonian concept thirteen years earlier in Nixon, though he did it with a lot less nuance. Related terms Franklin en Richard Nixon