WorldAugust 10, 2026
bootstrapped
BOOT-strapt
Definition
To improve one's position or advance a program by using minimal initial resources or existing internal processes rather than relying on external support.
Etymology
Derived from the 19th-century idiom 'to pull oneself up by one's bootstraps,' referring to the physical impossibility of lifting oneself by one's own boots, which evolved to describe self-reliant success.
In the news
The term is used here to describe how the voucher program was established or expanded through internal procedural maneuvers rather than through direct, transparent constitutional authorization.
Voucher critics tell Supreme Court GOP voucher measure is an unconstitutional ‘Trojan horse’
Read the full article ↗Arizona Mirror