One of President Donald Trump's favorite ways to undercut or demean things he doesn't like is to refer to them as "so-called." The most famous recent example of this came with his dismissal of the "so-called" judge that overturned his executive order on immigration. On Tuesday evening, he used the moniker to dismiss another political opponent: critics who've been peppering Republican town hall meetings over the last few weeks.

Here, in reverse chronological order, is everything that Donald Trump has referred to as "so-called" on Twitter — and our analysis of whether or not that so-called thing is actually that thing or not.

-Trump tweeted, "The so-called angry crowds in home districts of some Republicans are actually, in numerous cases, planned out by liberal activists. Sad!"

Are the so-called angry crowds actually angry crowds? Not every attendee is angry, certainly, and your definition of "crowd" may differ from Trump's, but generally groups like the one below are both sincerely angry and sincerely crowding a town hall.

-Trump tweeted, "The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!"

Is the so-called judge actually a judge? He is, which is what gave him the power to overturn Trump's immigration ban.

-"The 'Intelligence' briefing on so-called 'Russian hacking' was delayed until Friday, perhaps more time needed to build a case. Very strange!"

Was the so-called Russian hacking actually Russian hacking? There is good evidence that the hacking of the Democratic National Committee was committed by hackers linked to Russian intelligence services. The hacking of Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta's email is believed to have been committed by Russian state actors as well, though the evidence provided by the government publicly to date hasn't made that case completely. If Trump is taking issue with the word "hacking," he may be more right. One might refer to such illegal access as "spearphishing," rather than hacking.

-Trump tweeted, "The so-called 'A' list celebrities are all wanting tixs to the inauguration, but look what they did for Hillary, NOTHING. I want the PEOPLE!"

Were the so-called A-list celebrities who wanted tickets to the inauguration actually A-list celebrities? The celebrities that actually attended the inauguration were not A-list, by any robustly objective standard. Trump is implying that big stars wanted tickets but he told them no — and also doesn't think they're big stars. It's hard to evaluate the veracity of that, though I have hunch about how true it is.

-"It would have been much easier for me to win the so-called popular vote than the Electoral College in that I would only campaign in 3 or 4--"

Is the so-called popular vote actually a popular vote? In the sense that it measures the vote of the people - which is the root of the word - yes. In the sense that it's a popularity contest? Well, also yes.

-"The so-called Commission on Presidential Debates admitted to us that the DJT audio & sound level was very bad. So why didn't they fix it?"

Is the so-called Commission on Presidential Debates actually a commission on presidential debates? Yes.

-"Russia took Crimea during the so-called Obama years. Who wouldn't know this and why does Obama get a free pass?"

Were the so-called Obama years actually Obama years? Yes, in the sense that they were the years Barack Obama was in office.

-"A detainee released from Gitmo has killed an American. When will our so-called 'leaders' ever learn!"

Are the so-called leaders actually leaders? There are two senses of the word "leader." There's the official sense — the president is the leader of the country — and there's the literal sense. Do America's leaders actually lead Americans through their daily lives? Answering this is left as an exercise for the reader.

-"President Obama spends so much time speaking of the so-called Carbon footprint, and yet he flies all the way to Hawaii on a massive old 747."

And from earlier:

-"China talks about the so-called "carbon footprint" and then, behind our leaders backs, they laugh. They could (cont) http://tl.gd/gd1gc2"

Is the so-called carbon footprint actually a carbon footprint? No. It's a figure of speech — and, therefore, "so-called" is a fair description.

-".@FrankLuntz, your so-called "focus groups" are a total joke. Don't come to my office looking for business again. You are a clown!"

Are Frank Luntz's so-called focus groups actually focus groups? Assuming they are groups that are asked to focus on a subject and offer their opinions, yes.

-"Great article on so-called climate change, formerly known as global warming. http://bit.ly/1uDs1w3"

Is so-called climate change actually a change to the climate?According to scientists, yes. (That's a NASA link, so click it while you can.)

-"The so-called 'moderate' Syrian rebels pledged their allegiance to ISIS after Obama's address. We should not be arming them!"

Are the so-called moderate Syrian rebels actually moderate? Trump was echoing a news report that was popular on conservative media sites in the summer of 2014. The moderates at issue denied the allegation. If so, they probably still qualified as "moderate."

-"Why isn't Mexico releasing our Marine. U.S. should come down really hard on them. They have ZERO respect for our so-called 'leader'"

Is America's so-called leader actually a leader? See above.

-"Five U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan by so-called friendly fire. What are we doing?"

Is so-called friendly fire actually friendly fire? In the sense that the fire came from friendly forces, yes. In the broader sense of ascribing emotional significance to inanimate bullets, no.

-"There must be a higher standard of accuracy in the media. Incredible that some so-called 'journalists' can make up lies and get away with it"

Are so-called journalists who make up lies actually journalists? No, a person who makes up lies is not a journalist — at least if the lies are meant to comprise his or her journalism. Some journalists lie in other contexts though, which I can say affirmatively as the world's most handsome journalist.

-"Interesting how President Obama is flying around in a Boeing 747 on so-called Earth Day!"

Is so-called Earth Day actually Earth Day? Sure — because that's what it's called. This is another example when "so-called" is a perfectly apt description.

-"AMAZING how the press protected President Obama when he did the so-called comedy routine with Zach G. He looked like a fool - they said cute"

Was the so-called comedy routine actually a comedy routine? Trump is implying that the video below is not funny.

He is incorrect.

-"Back to work for the President to try and keep some dignity for the office and himself. The so-called rebels must be thoroughly confused!"

Are the so-called rebels actually rebels? This is apparently a reference to the conflict in Syria. Trump appears to be disparaging the forces battling the Assad regime, implying that they are somehow not rebellious? Anyway, someone in rebellion is a rebel, so the answer to the question is yes.

-"It's 46º (really cold) and snowing in New York on Memorial Day - tell the so-called "scientists" that we want global warming right now!"

Are the so-called scientists actually scientists? The scientists that study climate change and its effects are indeed scientists. Climate is different than weather, and one cold day in May or one hot day in January don't prove climate models right or wrong.

-"It's Thursday. How much time did Washington waste today trying to find a solution on the so-called fiscal cliff?"

Was the so-called fiscal cliff actually a fiscal cliff? It is not! America was barreling toward a precipice, but only figuratively. And therefore, in this early example of Trump using the expression "so-called," he was using it perfectly correctly.

To complain about politics, of course.

Washington Post

Philip Bump is a correspondent for The Post based in New York City.