DCHP-2

scrum DCHP-2 (June 2016)

• 1 n. — Politics

  a spontaneous interview of a politician, usually after closed-door meetings (see Image 1).

  Type: 3. Semantic Change — The term is originally connected to the second floor of the East Block of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa (see the 1965 quotation). Since then, the term has generalized beyond this particular context to any post in-camera informal briefing and question and answer of the press. Scrum seems to have taken on this specific Canadian meaning from the more general British English meaning "to jostle, crowd" (see OED-3, s.v. "scrum"). The term is most prevalent in Canada (see Chart 1).
  See also COD-2, s.v. "scrum" (3a), which is marked "Cdn."

• 2 v. — Politics

  to crowd around a politician in order to interview him or her.

  Type: 3. Semantic Change — Not long after the documentation of the noun, a corresponding verb was created (see the 1981 quotation for the earliest quotation thus far). The term is Canadian, both in meanings 1 and 2, by virtue of frequency (see Chart 1) and as a culturally significant feature of Canadian politics and its particular traditions.
  See also ITP Nelson, which lists the term, s.v. "scrum (2)". but does not label is as Canadian.