new words

As you may know, Indiana’s polls are among the first to close — 6pm. In an effort to make voting easier for people who actually work, State Senator Billie Breaux of Indianapolis introduced an amendment to keep the polls open until 9pm. The response of the Senate Elections Committee chairwoman, Connie Lawson:

Besides, Lawson said, by law Indiana’s bars must remain closed as long as the polls are open. Later voting hours would mean the bars would be closed longer, she said.

Which brings us to our word of the day:

dutton (v) [duh-tuhn] To shirk political responsibility for the sake of chemical pleasures.

This term originates from the classic character of Dutton Peabody in the classic John Ford western The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Peabody (portrayed in the film by Edmond O’Brien) is the often-intoxicated editor of the Shinbone Star. In a memorable scene, he pleads to end the territorial delegate election so that the bar can be reopened.

I predict that in the early part of the 21st century, “dutton” will be slowly replaced in popular usage by “lawson”, as illustrated: “I can’t believe the Representative is lawsoning instead of voting!”