Synonym a Day

[This word derives from the devil in the Faust legend to whom Faust sold his soul]. The question now is “Who is the real John McCain?” For the sake of victory, he sold his soul to the devil, to the Mephistophelean tactics of Karl Rove, which consist mainly of throwing mud until it sticks. (Anna Quindlen, “Obama the Unruffled,” Newsweek,10/27/2008.)