only Nixon could go to China
only Nixon could go to China proverb: only a politician or leader with an impeccable reputation of upholding particular political values could perform an action in seeming defiance of them without jeopardizing his support or credibility.
Proverb
only Nixon could go to China
- Only a politician or leader with an impeccable reputation of upholding particular political values could perform an action in seeming defiance of them without jeopardizing his support or credibility.
Forms of only Nixon could go to China
| alternative form | only Nixon can go to China |
|---|---|
| alternative form | it took Nixon to go to China |
Origin of only Nixon could go to China
A reference to U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 establishment of direct diplomatic relations with, and personal visit to, the People's Republic of China. Nixon's unyielding opposition to Communism had been well-known.
Questions about only Nixon could go to China
- What does only Nixon could go to China mean?
- Only Nixon could go to China means only a politician or leader with an impeccable reputation of upholding particular political values could perform an action in seeming defiance of them without jeopardizing his support or credibility.
- What part of speech is only Nixon could go to China?
- Only Nixon could go to China is a proverb.
Words near only Nixon could go to China in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: only Nixon could go to China (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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Cite this entry: “only Nixon could go to China.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/only_nixon_could_go_to_china. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
