A major highway that circles around a city, especially Washington D.C.; also used to refer to the political establishment and culture of Washington.
Compound of 'belt' and 'way', referring to a road that encircles like a belt. The Capital Beltway around Washington D.C., completed in 1964, gave rise to its metaphorical use for inside-the-Beltway politics.
The phrase 'inside the Beltway' became shorthand for Washington elites disconnected from regular Americans partly because the actual Beltway creates a physical separation between the capital and suburbs.
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