Prog, noun

Origin:
Shortened form of Progressive.
colloquial
A member of the liberal-democratic Progressive Party (1959–1975) and its successors the Progressive Reform Party (see PRP) (1975–1977), the Progressive Federal Party (see PFP) (1977–89), and the Democratic Party (see DP noun2); anyone with similar views; Progressive sense 3 b. Also attributive passing into adjective, of or pertaining to these parties.
1966 Argus 27 Sept. 4‘Exclusion’ will not kill Progs.
1969 Rand Daily Mail 20 Oct. 1Progs will stand for 20 seats.
1970 News/Check 4 Sept. 9He is fluent in both languages, something which cannot always be said for Prog and United Party candidates.
1972 Sunday Times 27 Feb. 4A man stands as an Independent and then everybody sets out to prove that he’s a crypto-Nat or a Prog in disguise.
1977 Guardian Weekly (U.K.) 11 Dec. 7Liberal-minded South Africans cheered their favoured Progressive Federal Party..the ‘progs’, as they are locally termed.
1980 Rand Daily Mail 14 Nov. 8Does the Prog Party propose a federal constitution for South Africa?
1981 Sunday Times 22 Nov. 27‘Obie’..talks of ‘Prog gevaar’ rather than ‘swart gevaar’.
1983 Frontline May 36In white SA, if a man is a Nat, say, then he’s not a Prog.
1987 Daily Dispatch 22 Oct. 15Mr Cronje said there were ‘two types of Progs’ — those who had genuine commitment to reach out to blacks and those who merely made overtures.
1990 G. Fysh in Weekend Post 5 May 11I remember how the Nationalists not just rejected, but mocked everything the Progs were saying; how they assured them the whites would never accept their policies and that separation was the only way to go.
1991 K. Owen in Sunday Times 8 Sept. 17DP leader Zach de Beer says the Nationalist constitutional plan includes all the main ideas put forward in the past by his party and its predecessors. If so, I’m thankful I have never been a Prog.
A member of the liberal-democratic Progressive Party (1959–1975) and its successors the Progressive Reform Party (see PRP) (1975–1977), the Progressive Federal Party (see PFP) (1977–89), and the Democratic Party (see DP noun2); anyone with similar views; Progressive sense 3 b. Also attributive passing into adjective, of or pertaining to these parties.
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19661991