Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A stem-winding watch.
  • noun A rousing oration, especially a political one.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A watch which is wound up or regulated by means of a contrivance connected with the stem, and not by a key.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun colloq. A stem-winding watch.
  • noun Anything of superior quality, as was attributed to the stem-winding watch; -- esp. used to describe a stirring speech, as in the phrase “a stem-winder of a speech” or “delivered a stem-winder”.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A watch that is wound up by turning a small knob (at the stem)
  • noun US A rousing speech, especially by a politician
  • noun US Someone who gives such speeches, a great orator.
  • noun US, proscribed An boring, interminable speech.
  • noun US, obsolete Top-notch, first-rate.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a watch that is wound by turning a knob at the stem

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

US, mid-late 19th century, originally referring to then-recent stem-wind watches (invented in 1840s, commercialized initially 1850s by Patek Philippe & Co.). These were expensive, top-notch watches, hence generalized (1892) to “top-notch”, particularly applied to speeches, or to the orator in question. Non-speech senses later fell out of use. Nuance of “rousing” speech possibly by analogy with watch being wound up ("tighten by winding, excite, rouse").

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Examples

  • Can hardly await Pres Obama's next bold move - Perhaps another stem-winder?

    Foundation continues to crumble (Jack Bog's Blog) 2009

  • Both showed up; Gray delivered opening remarks, and Fenty handled the stem-winder.

    DeMorning DeBonis: June 8, 2010 2010

  • Big awards, thankfully, don't always go to big ensembles, but there's a long way to go before a couple of perfect minutes of lapidary precision and ineffable depth can hope to compete on equal terms with a Wagnerian stem-winder. posted by Matthew @ 10: 00 PM

    Not long for this world Matthew Guerrieri 2007

  • And any -- any thoughts that people had that he would be too frail to be able to give his typical stem-winder of a speech were put to rest.

    CNN Transcript Aug 26, 2009 2009

  • He used to be was billed higher than a president or president-elect because he just knew he'd give a stem-winder (ph).

    CNN Transcript Aug 26, 2009 2009

  • Big awards, thankfully, don't always go to big ensembles, but there's a long way to go before a couple of perfect minutes of lapidary precision and ineffable depth can hope to compete on equal terms with a Wagnerian stem-winder. posted by Matthew @ 10: 00 PM

    Archive 2007-03-01 Matthew Guerrieri 2007

  • The Boston Globe reports that "[w] hen it became apparent that Clinton was not going to make the customary acknowledgment of Obama's victory in her speech, Obama began his own address before she finished, in effect grabbing the national television spotlight from her and cutting her off midstride" - and he went on to give a 45-minute stem-winder.

    A Second Sweep For Obama, McCain 2008

  • Wolfe's op-ed stem-winder was widely seen as decisive in sending the Foster scheme to defeat last month, but the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has rejected so much new construction within the Upper East Side Historic District of late, the outcome of the hearing was already a foregone conclusion.

    Martin Filler: Uncle Tom's Crabbin' 2008

  • But it was when Schweitzer talked about our breaking our "addiction to foreign oil" that his speech turned into a stem-winder.

    Paul Hogarth: Schweitzer Steals the Show; Hillary Calls for Unity 2008

  • Yet the phrase "gun control" is about as welcome at party convocations as a stem-winder from Karl Rove.

    Francis Wilkinson: Why Giuliani Gets Away With It 2008

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