Word.ws English Dictionary

fishhook theory

fishhook theory noun: the theory, sometimes suggested by socialist activists, that centrists and the "far right" are politically allied.

fishhook theory: the theory, sometimes suggested by socialist activists, that centrists and the "far right" are...
Image: Markosth09, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

fishhook theory (uncountable)

  1. (Internet) The theory, sometimes suggested by socialist activists, that centrists and the "far right" are politically allied.
    • I don't quite understand what the fish hook theory is supposed to say. Are centrists the same as the far right, but the moderate right is something else? That makes no sense.2021 June 21, u/MisterPyromaniac, “Fish hook theory is cringe”, in Reddit, r/PoliticalCompassMemes, archived from the original on 09 Oct 2025
    • Fishhook theory proven time and time again2022 February 27, u/BaybarsElSaif, “"Now the unthinkable has happened to them, and this is not a developing third world nation. This is Europe"”, in Reddit, r/ShitLiberalsSay, archived from the...

Forms of fishhook theory

alternative formfish hook theory

Origin of fishhook theory

Referring to the curved shape of a fishhook, where the barbed end points toward the center. Coined in response to the earlier concept of horseshoe theory.

Questions about fishhook theory

What does fishhook theory mean?
Fishhook theory means the theory, sometimes suggested by socialist activists, that centrists and the "far right" are politically allied.
What part of speech is fishhook theory?
Fishhook theory is a noun.

Words near fishhook theory in the dictionary

  1. fishhole
  2. fishholes
  3. fishhood
  4. fishhook
  5. fishhook flea
  6. fishhook theory
  7. fishhooked
  8. fishhooking
  9. fishhooks
  10. fishhouse
  11. fishhouses

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: fishhook theory (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Sapaa-fishhook theory.wav.

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