-ghazi

English

Etymology

Back-formation from Benghazi, the site of the 2012 Benghazi attack. The attack led to several investigations by the United States, though no criminal charges were levied.

Suffix

-ghazi

1. Combined with a relevant place, person, activity, etc. to form the names of scandals.
   • 2014 January 15, Alex Seitz-Wald, “How to Name a Scandal: What is a '- Gate' and What Is a '-Ghazi'?”, in James Bennet, editor, The Atlantic‎, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2 April 2021:

     The George Washington Bridge lane closings started as a "-ghazi" and then became a "-gate." […] Partisans, of course, will continue trying to turn "-ghazis" into "-gates" until RobotInsurrectiongate makes the issue moot sometime in the not-so-distant future.

Usage notes

-ghazi is typically used to denote scandals that are insignificant or partisan, as opposed to -gate, which is typically used to denote legitimate scandals.

Derived terms

English terms suffixed with -ghazi

Ballghazi

Bridgeghazi

Noun

-ghazi (plural -ghazis)

1. (informal) A scandal.
   • 2014 January 15, Alex Seitz-Wald, “How to Name a Scandal: What is a '- Gate' and What Is a '-Ghazi'?”, in James Bennet, editor, The Atlantic‎, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2 April 2021:

     The George Washington Bridge lane closings started as a "-ghazi" and then became a "-gate." […] The Obama era is chock full of "-ghazis"—Solyndraghazi, ObamaPhoneghazi, NewBlackPanthersghazi, Umbrellaghazi, and of course Benghazi—but few "-gates" (Snowdengate and Websitegate, come to mind).

See also

• -gate