--- title: Hillary Clinton Email Glossary description: Recently released emails from Hillary Clinton's time at the State Department reveal some "Hillaryisms" she used with friends and staff. canonical: https://time.com/4019043/hillary-clinton-email-hillaryisms/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-01T17:51:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:43:40.856Z article:section: Politics og:title: Learn Hillary Clinton’s Quirky Email Slang og:description: Here's how she talks to close friends and coworkers og:url: https://time.com/4019043/hillary-clinton-email-hillaryisms/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte7106ab8a35e0f6a/698861c38e0601c018462241/hillary-clinton14.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4740 og:image:height: 2666 og:image:alt: Hillary Rodham Clinton og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Learn Hillary Clinton’s Quirky Email Slang twitter:description: Here's how she talks to close friends and coworkers twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte7106ab8a35e0f6a/698861c38e0601c018462241/hillary-clinton14.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Learn Hillary Clinton’s Quirky Email Slang > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=66f898c4-d943-4c62-bb84-91569351b087&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Sep 1, 2015 5:51 PM UTC  Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks a news conference at the Des Moines Area Community College on Aug. 26, 2015, in Ankeny, Iowa. Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks a news conference at the Des Moines Area Community College on Aug. 26, 2015, in Ankeny, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall—AP by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Sep 1, 2015 5:51 PM UTC The release of [thousands of emails](http://time.com/4018142/hillary-clinton-email-released/) from Hillary Clinton’s time as Secretary of State hasn’t just opened a window into her political decisions, it’s also revealed how she talks. A number of emails from Clinton to her closest staffers show a private lingo, often a form of shorthand to make typing easier on a smartphone but also the kind of personal references people who work closely together develop. Here’s a short glossary of some common Hillaryisms: [**are you awake:**](https://foia.state.gov/searchapp/DOCUMENTS/HRCEmail%5FAugust%5FWeb/IPS-0108/DOC%5F0C05771316/C05771316.pdf) Subject line of any email sent past 10 p.m. or so. Nothing else is in the email so that if the recipient is asleep, they don’t feel pressured to respond at 2 a.m. [**berry:**](https://foia.state.gov/searchapp/DOCUMENTS/HRCEmail%5FAugust%5FWeb/IPS-0124/DOC%5F0C05775509/C05775509.pdf) Clinton’s BlackBerry. [**Diane Reynolds:**](https://foia.state.gov/searchapp/DOCUMENTS/HRCEmail%5FAugust%5FWeb/IPS-0120/DOC%5F0C05774204/C05774204.pdf) A pseudonym used by Chelsea Clinton when [checking into hotels](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/05/us/politics/membership-in-clintons-email-domain-is-remembered-as-a-mark-of-status.html?%5Fr=1) and also for her email address on Hillary Clinton’s homemade server. [**hPad:**](https://foia.state.gov/searchapp/DOCUMENTS/HRCEmail%5FAugust%5FWeb/IPS-0128/DOC%5F0C05777199/C05777199.pdf) Clinton’s iPad. [**HRod:** ](https://foia.state.gov/searchapp/DOCUMENTS/HRCEmail%5FAugust%5FWeb/IPS-0116/DOC%5F0C05772984/C05772984.pdf)A nickname for Hillary Rodham Clinton, based on one of her email addresses, hrod17@clintonemail.com. Presumably a play on A-Rod, the nickname for New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez. [**kidlet:**](https://foia.state.gov/searchapp/DOCUMENTS/HRCEmail%5FAugust%5FWeb/IPS-0091/DOC%5F0C05771015/C05771015.pdf) Children. State Department staffer Cheryl Mills often referred to her children as “kidlets” in emails to Clinton. [**pls print:**](https://foia.state.gov/searchapp/DOCUMENTS/HRCEmail%5FAugust%5FWeb/IPS-0114/DOC%5F0C05773420/C05773420.pdf) A request for a staffer to print out an email, often the text of a longer news story, presumably so that she can read it. [**WJC:**](https://foia.state.gov/searchapp/DOCUMENTS/HRCEmail%5FAugust%5FWeb/IPS-0119/DOC%5F0C05773289/C05773289.pdf) Hillary Clinton’s husband, former President William Jefferson Clinton. State Department staffers often referred to Bill Clinton by his initials, though Hillary usually just called him Bill. **Read Next:** [_Hillary Clinton’s Lawyer Readies for Email War_](http://time.com/3998444/hillary-clinton-email-investigation-david-kendall/) ### See an Intimate Portrait of Hillary Clinton  With an ice cream cone in hand, Hillary waves to the crowd in Weedsport, New York, as she heads to the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged in Auburn, New York, one of the stops on her Save America's Treasures tour, July 14, 1998. Diana Walker—Contour by Getty Images for TIME  Getting ready for President Clinton's second inaugural, Hillary gets her first glimpse of daughter Chelsea's short skirt. Jan. 20, 1997 Diana Walker—Contour by Getty Images for TIME  The President and the First Lady Share a private moment, one of their last in the Oval Office. Jan. 11, 2001. Diana Walker—Contour by Getty Images for TIME  Hillary checks her messages upon departure from Malta for the as-yet-undisclosed location, Tripoli, Oct. 18, 2011\. This photo was turned into a meme that circulated around the world. Diana Walker—Contour by Getty Images for TIME  Before an appearance with David Letterman, Hillary checks her BlackBerry while Diana Walker takes their picture. Feb. 4, 2008. Diana Walker—Contour by Getty Images for TIME  Hillary gathers her thoughts moments before her introduction at Nueva Esperanza Academy Charter High School in Philadelphia. Apr. 18, 2008. Diana Walker—Contour by Getty Images for TIME  Diana Walker—Contour by Getty Images for TIME  Hillary walks up the steps of the US Capitol to meet with Senate leaders. May 16, 2006. Diana Walker—Contour by Getty Images for TIME  Hillary enters a Super Bowl party at a bar and grill in St. Paul Minnesota, where she watches the New York Giants win the game, Feb. 3, 2008. 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