There isn't a single, hard definition of populism. At first it was the people against aristocracy and even the bourgeoisie joined in the pandering to the people.

It's surprisingly hard to find a true populist as most politicians marked thusly are from the bourgeois class, often independently wealthy.

I'd argue that a hard definition of populism would almost empty out the category.

To brand everyone who misunderstands the term as 'pandering to the people' is a bit harsh. To misunderstand the term doesn't mean an intent to 'poison you're (sic) mind against the very word'.