mugwump: an independent in politics
This word is originally from mugquomp, the Natick (Algonquian) term for a great chief. It was first used in 1663 by Rev. John Eliot, who translated the word duke as mugwump in his Algonquian-language version of the Old Testament. By the nineteenth century, it was a joke word, a term for a man of some importance, but maybe not quite as much as he imagined.
Mugwump reached its peak of fame in 1884. That year, James G. Blaine was nominated as the Republican candidate for president, much to the displeasure of many Republicans, who threw their support to Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland, citing reasons of principle. The party faithful considered that these deserters were displaying an unwarranted attitude of moral superiority, so they started calling them mugwumps, implying that they were showing off. The meaning later shifted to designate someone who kept aloof from party politics or, even worse, switched sides whenever it was convenient. This last meaning probably explains the folk etymology of mugwump: a politician who has his mug on one side of the fence and his wump on the other.