A trademark used for a waxy, opaque material, polytetrafluoroethylene, employed as a coating on cooking utensils and in industrial applications to prevent sticking. This trademark often occurs in figurative contexts in print: "It would make of Gorbachev's stewardship a truly Teflon chairmanship, demonstrating that no Soviet actions, regardless of how egregious, will cling to him" (New Republic).
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
