frontrunneritis

English

Alternative forms

• front-runneritis, front-runner-itis, frontrunner-itis

Etymology

From front runner +‎ -itis.

Noun

frontrunneritis (uncountable)

1. (informal) A supposed affliction said to cause someone, especially a political candidate, to struggle as soon as they become a front runner.
   • 1999 December 9, Mark Z. Barabak, “Bush’s Winning Glow Dims After Poor Debate Reviews”, in Los Angeles Times‎^[1], Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 April 2024:

     "This is sort of the fourth generation of front-runner-itis he's suffered through," said Carney. "First it was that he was hiding in Austin and not campaigning. Then it was all he cared about was money. Then it was 'he's afraid to debate.' Now it's that he's not substantive enough. I don't know if it's all just wishful thinking on the part of his opponents or something more."

   • 2007 October 8, Peter Fenn, “FrontRunneritis”, in The Hill‎^[2], Washington, D.C.: Nexstar Media Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-04-27:

     Yes, FrontRunneritis is a terrible disease. Lyndon Johnson had it. Ed Muskie had it. Howard Dean had it. Candidates for all levels of office catch it.

   • 2011 July 2, Lindsey Boerma, quoting Chris Lehane, “It’s Mr. No Comment Versus Ms. Accessible”, in The Atlantic‎^[3], Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-08-08:

     Romney, on the other hand, is exhibiting signs of "front-runneritis," said Lehane, "where they try to protect themselves. They go into a cocoon; they don't want to engage in the hurly-burly that is the very definition of an Iowa caucus or a New Hampshire primary."

   • 2014 January 27, John Baer, “Allyson Schwartz's 'frontrunneritis'”, in The Philadelphia Inquirer‎^[4], Philadelphia, P.A.: The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-04-27:

     But she also has "front-runneritis" - in some cases drawing comparisons to New York's Christine Quinn: early favorite to succeed Mayor Michael Bloomberg; finished third in her Democratic primary.

   • 2015 October 10, “Take 2: Why I'm still a Mariners fan first amid the sea of Seahawks fans in Seattle”, in The Seattle Times‎^[5], Seattle, W.A: The Seattle Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2020-02-13:

     Look, I understand the current Seahawks mania. Who can't love Pete Carroll and his Legion of Boom? But I have the sense — bear with me, now — that there's an element of frontrunner-itis infecting us.

References

• Paul McFedries (1996–2024) “frontrunneritis”, in Word Spy, Logophilia Limited.