Quote: "Scalito." Nickname given new Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito by the press.
Figure of Speech: meiosis (mie OH sis), the shrinking figure.
Isn't the middle-aged male pro-life jurist whose last name ends in a vowel seat taken already? Antonin Scalia fills that slot nicely, thank you very much.
No, no, no, say Samuel Alito's backers. He's different from Scalia. For one thing, Sammy's a nice guy. Nonetheless, the media affectionately give him a meiosis, a figure that belittles a person or thing: "Scalito," or "Scalia Lite."
With compassionate conservatives like him, who needs liberals?
Snappy Answer: "I thought Bush opposed affirmative action."