So McCain is a “maverick”. Palin used that word again, 6 times, during the last debate with Biden on October 2. To her it probably means some kind of a rebel, a nonconformist. But not everybody is happy with the use of the word, especially Terellita Maverick, whose last name has given its origin to the word. It began as far the XVIIe century, when Terellita’s ancester fought for the rights of workers. Then at the beginning of the XIXe century, Samuel Augustus Maverick was known in Texas for not branding his cattle. Non branded cattle was thus referred to as “Maverick’s”. Samuel’s grandson and great-grandson also lived by their name, fighting for individual freedom respectively as a congressman and as a lawyer.
So Terellita Maverick, Samuel’s great-granddaughter, now aged 82, is “enraged” when she hears that McCain is referred to as a maverick, because he has nothing of it, according to her. You know we don’t do politics at Freelang, but we found this story in the New York Times about the origin of the word, and we wanted to share it with you.
