neverendum

English

WOTD – 16 December 2013, 16 December 2014

Etymology

Blend of neverending +‎ referendum. Coined by Canadian writer Josh Freed in the context of repeated referendums on the secession of Quebec.^[1]

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /ˌnɛv.əˈɹɛn.dəm/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
(US, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˌnɛv.ɚˈɛn.dəm/

Noun

neverendum (plural neverendums or neverenda)

A series of referendums on the same issue held in an attempt to achieve an unpopular result.
- 1998, Pierre Desrochers, Eric Duhaime, “10: A Secessionist's View of Quebec's Options”, in David Gordon, editor, Secession, State, and Liberty, page 239:
  Another "neverendum" (as Canadian nationalists call this process) on Quebec's secession is planned before the year 2000.
- 1999, David Schneiderman, The Quebec Decision: Perspectives on the Supreme Court Ruling on Secession, page 123:
  And so, the neverendum marches on. This is good news for the Liberals but bad news for Canada.
- 1999 April 26, J Kirby Inwood, “Municipality creation”, in can.legal (Usenet):
  Well then you get Bouchard to have some neveredums (or neverenda, if you're literate.)
- 1999 September 9, Dwight Williams, “Plastique and the FALN: Birds of a Feather?”, in rec.arts.comics.dc.universe (Usenet):
  You should see the history lessons on the Quebec referenda(neverenda?)...
- 2011, Peter Swirski, American Utopia and Social Engineering in Literature, Social Thought, and Political History, Routledge, page 86:
  Some referenda feel like neverenda, political footballs kicked about in empty aisles.
- 2012, Henry McLeish, Scotland: The Growing Divide: Old Nation, New Ideas, page 116:
  This is the Québécois scenario of the ‘neverendum’, which could be replicated in Scotland: the voters park their ideology and values at the elections to the Holyrood Parliament and elect an SNP or SNP coalition government, but vote differently at Westminster elections.
- 2014 June 17, Yaniv Loran, “How to get out the youth vote”, in The Gazette, Montreal, Que., page A16:
  I refer, among other things, to the egregious abuses during our neverenda referenda and the federal robocall scandal.

References

^ 1995, Canadian Annual Review of Politics and Public Affairs, University of Toronto Press, page 139 — Josh Freed, the award-winning humorist of the Montreal Gazette, coined a new word to be added to the Quebec lexicon: the ‘neverendum.’

[1] 1995, Canadian Annual Review of Politics and Public Affairs, University of Toronto Press, page 139 — Josh Freed, the award-winning humorist of the Montreal Gazette, coined a new word to be added to the Quebec lexicon: the ‘neverendum.’

[1]