But unlike those two precedents, the Watergate Office Building would be immortalized as the catchall term for political scandal. What’s unusual about Watergate is that one syllable splintered off to become the universally recognized designator for political malfeasance. This seems to have been the first use of -gate as a generic label for a political scandal. Despite this, The New York Times referred to the episode as “Reagangate” just twice, “Contragate” only 11 times and “Irangate” about 100 times. As with the wear and tear on an overused suffix, one has to wonder: Have voters become numb to political scandal, too?

Source: Libya Today May 27, 2022 00:05 UTC