By Mark Baisley
Sunday, December 25, 2011
With today being both Christmas and Hanukkah, I figured that I would take an uncharacteristically charitable tone with this week’s article. No political analysis. No interpretation of presidential candidate positioning. Just a jog through jargon; the art of argot; the pleasance of parlance.
Learning and appreciating new vocabulary words is an avocation of mine. Having the right word at hand is like having the right tool for the job. Creative terminology makes for inspired speech.
Here a few of my favorites:
consuetude |'känswi?t(y)ood|
noun
an established custom, esp. one having legal force.
Liberals disrespect the consuetude of religious expression in the public square.
revanchism |r?'vä n ? sh iz?m|
noun
a policy of seeking to retaliate, esp. to recover lost territory.
The mission for the Republican Party in 2012 will be the revanchism of freedoms disposed of by the Obama Administration.
cicatrix |'sik??triks| (also cicatrice |-?tris|)
noun
the scar of a healed wound.
The cicatrix of a fifteen-trillion-dollar debt will stand as a reminder to Americans of the enormous cost of socialism.
velleity |v?'le?te; ve-|
noun
a wish or inclination not strong enough to lead to action
The Tea Party was born in response to the frustrating velleity exhibited by some Republican elected officials.
mulct |m?lkt|
noun
a fine or compulsory payment.
President Obama never met a mulct that he didn’t like.
louche |loo sh |
adjective
disreputable or sordid in a rakish or appealing way
The louche Democratic Party holds on to minority support by keeping them weak and dependent on government programs.
doyen |doi'en; 'doi-en|
noun
the most respected or prominent person in a particular field
While Newt Gingrich is the established doyen of the Republican field, he will need to overcome a dug-in party establishment to become the nominee.
bowdlerize |'bodl??riz; 'boud-|
verb
remove material that is considered improper or offensive from (a text or account), esp. with the result that it becomes weaker or less effective
There is nothing like bowdlerizing history books to prepare America’s youth for a politically correct indoctrination.
stultify |'st?lt??fi|
verb
cause to lose enthusiasm and initiative, esp. as a result of a tedious or restrictive routine
The Democratic Party relies on environmentalism to stultify the American economy.
kith |ki?|
noun
one's friends, acquaintances, and relations
Senator Obama’s kith alone, like Bill Ayers, should have prevented him from being elected as president.
sangfroid |sä ng 'frwä|
noun
composure or coolness, sometimes excessive, as shown in danger or under trying circumstances
President Obama’s sangfroid in the face of economic collapse leads one to believe that controverting American exceptionalism is his goal.
enfant terrible |ä n ?fä n te'rebl(?)|
noun
a person whose unconventional or controversial behavior or ideas shock, embarrass, or annoy others
It seems that no scheme of the enfant terrible Representative from San Francisco is too radical for the Democratic Party.
koan |'ko?än|
noun
a paradoxical anecdote or riddle, used in Zen Buddhism to demonstrate the inadequacy of logical reasoning and to provoke enlightenment.
Finding original intent to be far too restrictive, the 9th Circuit relies primarily on koan to arrive at its rulings.
denizen |'den?z?n|
noun
an inhabitant or occupant of a particular place
The denizens of Wall Street are the popular voice of the Obama Administration.
gimcrack |'jim?krak|
adjective
flimsy or poorly made but deceptively attractive
We can only hope that the American electorate in 2012 will see the Obama Administration’s doctrine for the gimcrack ideology that it truly is.
Happy holidays to all of my fellow terminologists.
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