Orthogonian

Coined by Richard M. Nixon in 1930 from Ancient Greek ὀρθός (orthós, “straight”), Ancient Greek γωνία (gōnía, “corner, angle”), + -ian, to mean "straight shooter".

Orthogonian (plural Orthogonians)

1. 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.
   • 2016, Steven Hyden, Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me:

     Orthogonians, like Nixon, saw themselves as hardworking "regular" people fighting against a powerful elite (personified by the Franklins) for status and wealth.

   • 2023, Paul Carter, Richard Nixon: California's Native Son, page 40:

     Fellow Orthogonians considered him an idealist who emphasized Orthogonian rituals to develop moral behavior among the members.

   • 2023, Michael Richman, George Allen: A Football Life:

     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.

Orthogonian (comparative more Orthogonian, superlative most Orthogonian)

1. Pertaining to or characteristic of the Orthogonian society and its ethos of appealing to working-class values and opposition to a wealthy ruling elite.
   • 2011, Chris Matthews, Kennedy & Nixon: The Rivalry that Shaped Postwar America:

     Nixon would employ the same Orthogonian politics in his adult career.

   • 2015, Dr. Bill Thomas, ‎William H. Thomas, Second Wind, page 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.

   • 2016, Steven Hyden, Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me:

     Stone explored the Orthogonian concept thirteen years earlier in Nixon, though he did it with a lot less nuance.

• Franklin