Phrase guide

Mayberry Machiavelli

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A person who furthers a cause by "reducing every issue to its simplest, black-and-white terms for public consumption", i.e., denying nuance by presenting stark but fallacious alternatives.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: derogatory

Examples

  • That Mayberry Machiavelli thinks that anybody who didn't support the Iraq war is a Saddam Hussein supporter.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Coined by John J. DiIulio, Jr., who ran President George W. Bush's Faith-based Initiative. See Machiavelli. Mayberry was the name of a small rural town in The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D., US TV shows that ran from 1960 to 1971.