fence-mending

noun

Social assistance given to a community in order to retain popularity with the electorate.

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Meanings

nounfence-mending (uncountable)
  1. uncountablegovernmentSocial assistance given to a community in order to retain popularity with the electorate.

    Patronage and political fence mending had come to bore him.

    1995, Jack Bass, The Transformation of Southern Politics, page 295
    1 more example

    In summary, the recognition of the mandate of a group by government is useful not only to the group's leaders but to government as well. The existence and operations of organized groups introduce an element of stability into the political process; […] they enable government to carry on a continuous process of “fence mending” by continually drawing attention to the fences which require mending; […]

    1972, David Kwavnick, Organized Labour and Pressure Politics, page 15
  2. uncountableUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see fence, mend.
Cite this entry
APA

fence-mending. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fence-mending

MLA

“fence-mending.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fence-mending. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fence-mending,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fence-mending.

Source: fence-mending on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.