1. Donald Trump tweeted on 4 December 2018: "....I am a Tariff Man. When people or countries come in to raid the great wealth of our Nation, I want them to pay for the privilege of doing so. It will always be the best way to max out our economic power. We are right now taking in $billions in Tariffs. MAKE AMERICA RICH AGAIN." Source: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1069970500535902208 2. In view of this, I use the expression "Tariff Man" humorously or sarcastically to denote a kind of bogeyman (of either sex) with the following characteristics: (a) An imaginary monster or evil spirit used by adults to frighten children into good behaviour. (b) A terrifying spectre or peeping phantom that strikes fear in sexual miscreants by hiding under the bed and crawling out at unexpected moments. (c) An apparition or hobgoblin that bankrupts businessmen if they cannot keep him happy. (d) A person or thing that is widely regarded as an object of fear. 3. All the above-mentioned Tariff Men are different from other imaginary spirits or bogeymen. They have Jekyll and Hyde tendencies, being mercurial and contradictory in behaviour and speech. As an object of fear, a Tariff Man has contradictory characteristics too. For instance, morphine (as an example of Tariff Man) has a high potential for addiction and abuse. Although it can kill a person by stopping his breathing, it is used to treat moderate to severe pain in hospitals. The following sentences show how to use the new term "Tariff Man". (a) The mother told her son: "If you don't behave well, the Tariff Man will come to get you." (b) The president told the coal miners that climate change is a Tariff Man created by an enemy country to discourage them from digging "beautiful, clean coal". (c) The presidential candidate portrayed the opposition as a Tariff Man out to break the country into a thousand pieces. (d) The adulterer had a nightmare of being dragged into a closet by the Tariff Man last night. (e) When asked by the shop owner on ways to improve his business, the witch proposed creating an altar for the Tariff Man in a corner of his shop. (f) The politician accused the media of being the true Tariff Man of the people in the dissemination of fake news. (g) The angry woman accused her husband's mistress of being the Tariff Man who wrecked her dreams. P.S. Like bogeyman, Tariff Man, being an imaginary monster, is used for both genders.
