Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

twinkie defence

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.39 in modern English

Syllables
twinkie de-fence
IPA
27
Scrabble Score
14
Letters
2
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A legal defense of diminished responsibility based on a claim that irregular behavior is caused by a poor diet or junk food.

American usage; Colloquial

noun

Any spurious legal defense.

Etymology

From the 1979 trial of defendant Dan White for the murders of San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk and mayor George Moscone. White's defense was that he suffered diminished capacity as a result of his depression; his change in diet from healthy food to Twinkies and other sugary food was said to be a symptom of this depression.

Usage

Inflected Forms

Twinkie defences (plural) Twinkie defense (alternative)

Questions

What does twinkie defence mean?
A legal defense of diminished responsibility based on a claim that irregular behavior is caused by a poor diet or junk food.
Where does twinkie defence come from?
From the 1979 trial of defendant Dan White for the murders of San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk and mayor George Moscone. White's defense was that he suffered diminished capacity as a result of his depression; his change in diet from healthy food to Twinkies and other sugary food was said to be a symptom of this depression.

How to pronounce twinkie defence

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