POTUS
acronym

- abbreviation for President of the United States

American Heritage Dictionary

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ORIGIN & USAGE

POTUS, a code name for the President of the United States, has been used by Washington DC insiders for many years. Thanks to television and the new media, it has meanwhile gained widespread attention among the general public.

It should be pointed out that no one addresses the President directly as POTUS (Good morning POTUS. How are you today?). Rather, he (as of this writing the United States has yet to elect a female president) is simply addressed as Mr. President.

White House staffers likely use the acronym behind his back, either as part of daily business (Can someone take this report to POTUS?) or perhaps in a more light-hearted fashion (Is POTUS in a good mood today?). It’s well known that the President’s protective service, the Secret Service, has been using this code name since the Reagan years in the 80s.

The acronym POTUS is thought to have originated from the Phillips Code, a type of journalistic shorthand compiled in 1879 by Walter Phillips, a telegrapher and wire-service manager who worked for both the Associated Press and United Press International.

Phillips also came up with SCOTUS, short for Supreme Court of the United States. It’s not clear if he also created FLOTUS, the acronym for First Lady of the United States.

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SYNONYMS

America's chief, American chief executive, American head of state, big boss, big cheese, big man in the white house, boss of the free world, chief occupant/resident of the oval office (the white house), face of the American nation, first citizen, leader of the free world, main man in washington, man in the oval office (in the white house), Mr. President, oval office boss, POTUS, President of the United States, presidential figure, prez, public face of America, public servant, ruler, the big kahuna, United states president, Voice of the nation, Washington’s boss, white house boss (chief, occupant, resident)

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation today, say something like:

“If there’s only one thing to be read and seen this week, it’s ‘Michael Moore Presents: PORTRAITS OF POTUS—America’s Art Attack for Democracy’ … check it out at: https://www.michaelmoore.com/p/an-entire-wing-of-the-smithsonian “

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