Beltway
D.C. ring road
The Beltway is Interstate 495, the highway encircling Washington, D.C., and its close suburbs.
By extension, Beltway describes the insular world of federal politics and the people who inhabit it: Beltway insiders, Beltway politics, inside the Beltway.
The term often carries a dismissive tone, suggesting detachment from ordinary Americans: That's just Beltway thinking. (Lowercase beltway is any ring highway.)
One with confidential access
- establishmentFounded organization or venue
- WashingtonU.S. seat of government
- lobbyistPaid legislative influencer
- punditProfessional opinion-giver
Capitol Hill · politician · bureaucrat · think tank · consultant · spin · power broker · Georgetown
insider
One with confidential access
- establishmentFounded organization or venue
- WashingtonU.S. seat of government
- lobbyistPaid legislative influencer
pundit · Capitol Hill · politician · bureaucrat · think tank · consultant · spin · power broker · Georgetown · senate
- highwayshighway, highways, freeway, freeways, expressway
- DC AreaWashington DC, Bethesda, Arlington, Rockville, Fairfax
- Northeast HighwaysI-95, turnpikes, toll roads, expressways, parkways
- political jargonfilibuster, gerrymandering, caucus, pork barrel, lame duck
- DC RoadsI-495
- infrastructurehighways, road construction, railway expansion, power grid, roads
Beltwayarterial road
Major urban traffic route
interstate · thoroughfare · corridor · expressway · turnpike
BeltwayMain Street
Town's central thoroughfare
heartland · grassroots · flyover country · small-town America · kitchen table
Beltwaydowntown
Central business district
city center · central business district · urban core · inner city · rural areas