One word in politics that has gotten a lot of use recently is "maverick." It's often used to describe Republican presidential candidate John McCain. But where does the term come from?
Word maven William Safire explains that "Maverick" was the name of a Texan in the 1800s. Samuel Maverick, in fact.
"He refused to brand his cattle, and the reason he gave was he didn't want to be cruel to animals," Safire says. "But all his friends and neighbors said that wasn't so — he was just going around trying to round up all the unbranded cattle and claim them for himself."
Maverick was also a Southern politician who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence.
His great-grandson lives in Los Angeles. A self-described "city-slicker," Andrew Maverick likes hearing tales of his great grandfather — and those unbranded calves that roamed freely in Texas.
"When people around there saw a calf running around without a brand on it and no mother — several of them, they'd say, 'Those are mavericks.' "
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDYwMzgxODUyMDE2MzQ1Nzg1MTRlNTA2Yg000))