With this last David Jolly-Alex Sink special election for a Congressional seat in Florida, another annoying buzz-word is back in the news:


 Quote:

Bellwether


A bellwether is any entity in a given arena that serves to create or influence trends or to presage future happenings.

The term is derived from the Middle English bellewether and refers to the practice of placing a bell around the neck of a castrated ram (a wether) leading his flock of sheep. The movements of the flock could be noted by hearing the bell before the flock was in sight.


They couldn't just say "precursor" or "beginning of a trend"?