Potomac fever

English

Etymology

(desire for political power): In reference to the Potomac river running through Washington, D.C., seat of US politics.

Noun

Potomac fever (uncountable)

1. Synonym of Potomac horse fever
2. (informal) A desire for political power.
   • 1991, Tom Sehler, When Reason Sleeps, page 4:

     Or maybe he just had a severe case of Potomac fever. It affects most congressmen and senators sooner or later: an atrophy of the sense of humility, a swelling of the glands of arrogance.

   • 2011, Roger Herst, Rabbi Gabrielle's Defiance:

     After years of resisting Potomac fever, was she experiencing the initial symptoms ofthis dreaded disease? Was she capitulating toa base instinct for power?