Steve Largent

I always felt the gifts you need as governor were more suited for my personality. I'm a good team player, but I'm not a policy wonk. In Congress, you need 218 votes to make anything happen. When you're governor, you're the CEO of the state. You establish the vision and standards for the state. You're the leader.

American Athlete

Douglas Wilder

Government or politics in America today is big business. Everybody makes money involving themselves in one way or the other, whether it's pollsters, whether they are policy wonks, whether they are pundits, whether they are those who believe that they must call it as they see it and then to be fair about it.

American Politician

Nassim Nicholas Taleb

We are victims of the post-Enlightenment view that the world functions like a sophisticated machine, to be understood like a textbook engineering problem and run by wonks. In other words, like a home appliance, not like the human body.

Lebanese Scientist

Adam Curtis

The problem with wonks is that they can't deal with emotion and feeling, and they don't like stories. It means that they cannot connect at all with the feelings and imaginations of the voters.

British Director

Peter York

There is an interior style we intellectuals and design policy wonks know as Haut Euro Pooftastic, which really takes the biscuit.

British Journalist

Peter Morgan

I am not a politics wonk. I like the idea of my writing reflecting more about who I am or other people.

British Writer

Jimmy Smits

I'm not a policy wonk - I'm somewhere between being undecided and a surrogate.

American Actor

Andrew Shaffer

Biden is actually a wonk at heart. Despite his gaffes, he's very cerebral.

American Author

Clint Howard

I'm not a policy wonk, and I don't dream of being a political operative.

Nouriel Roubini

I'm a rock star among geeks, wonks, and nerds.

American Economist

Used for someone incredibly focused on a specific subject, often implying depth of knowledge.

Specialized Interest

Although nerdy, 'wonk' generally implies respect for someone's expertise.

Positive Connotation

Often used in professional or academic contexts, rather than casual conversation.

Professional Jargon

'Wonk' is often related to studying or working hard, more than just being knowledgeable.

Associates with Hard Work

Can imply that someone is overly focused on work or study, to the exclusion of other things.

Potentially Negative

Use carefully, as it can be a compliment or a gentle tease depending on context.

Admiration or Mockery

 support and train republican women to run for office um you know my background is really i come from a moderate republican family we talked politics around the dining room table i came to dc right after college um and i love public policy i'm a wonk i'm a nerd um and i really

Recruiting Women for...

 But is this necessarily a bad thing? Perhaps reason is overrated. Many pundits have argued that a good heart and steadfast moral clarity are superior to triangulations of overeducated policy wonks, like the best and brightest and that dragged us