pinko

Etymology

pink + -o, a variation of red (“Communist”, noun), as pink is a lighter, more diluted form.

noun

1. (informal, often derogatory, chiefly US) A socialist, particularly one who is not wholly communist.
   At Princeton a lone townsman cried "Down with Mussolini!" in the midst of a reception, was jostled by students, escorted off the campus. At Harvard the pinko National Students League protested to President Conant, but allowed the visitors to tour Cambridge in peace. 1934-10-22, “Gentlemen & Guttersnipes”, in Time Magazine, number 17, page 45
   “I agree with the decision one hundred per cent,” he said. “And if I find any pinkos that I don't know about on my lot I'll get rid of them if I can. They don't even have to be Communists. I'll try to clean out any leftists.” 1947-11-30, Thomas F. Brady, quoting Bryan Foy, “Hollywood Divided”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
   Until society collectively starts using terminology like this effectively, all you'll end up with is a bunch of Commie Pinkos Stinking up parks around the country "Occupying" without a clear goal or message. 2011-10-24, Archangel Michael, “The 147 Corporations Controlling Most of the Global Economy”, in Slashdot
   Kelly reassures his readers that the people who run this emerging economy are not left-wing in any traditional sense. They are “more likely to be libertarians than commie pinkos,” he explains. 2014, Astra Taylor, quoting Kevin Kelly, chapter 4, in The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age, Henry Holt and Company
   Almost 10 years ago I made a documentary called Inside Child Poverty. Some people (largely members of John Key’s government) got very angry with me. I was a left wing pinko journo making this stuff up in an election year. 2020-12-14, Bryan Bruce, “10 years since the Child Poverty documentary, what’s changed?”, in The Daily Blog