Posts tagged as:

political speeches

PLATITUDE: a trite remark which masquerades as being profound, but actually says nothing

September 18, 2012

People mean well.  They say things that they think will be consoling, inspiring, and maybe even profound.   But many times the cliché, quote, or ditty that they express is nothing more than a platitude, a remark that is simplistic to the point of being trite. “God needed him in Heaven.” “Only the good die young.” [...]

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JIBE or JIVE?: common error

June 23, 2012

I have to admit that I had to look up the answer to this dilemma before I was confident enough to raise the question.   When someone says that something doesn’t line up properly, should they say That just didn’t jibe properly…or…. That just didn’t jive properly I thought I knew the answer, but everyone around [...]

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OROTUND: [AWR-uh-tuhnd]: loud, bombastic

June 10, 2012

Who can forget the explosive scream speech of former Governor Howard Dean when he was a candidate for President?  Always an energized, entertaining speaker, Dean let loose with a scream that resonated around the nation…and his campaign was over.  Even he laughs about it now, but at the time it was a signal to American [...]

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DETRITUS: [dih-TRAHY-tuhs]: debris

May 29, 2012

The latest media reports about detritus are from Alaska, where it is reported that debris from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, is washing up on shore.   It may seem amazing that it is over a year later that the mess is accumulating, but when you think of the distance, the interplay [...]

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PAEAN: enthusiastic praise

October 11, 2011

Originally paean,  (pronounced pee-uhn) was associated with music and indicated raving support and enthusiasm for a specific composition or performance.   But in recent years the word has come to mean any enthusiastic response to someone, a production, or some other activity. In the world of music there is a phenomenon which falls into the category [...]

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SHIBBOLETH: a password or key word used to identify intruders

August 25, 2011

In the biblical book of Judges there is a very clever story about the struggle between the Ephraimites and the Gileadites.    They were bitter enemies.  In order to assure that those seeking passage over Gilead were friendly, the Gileadites adopted a secret password, “shibboleth.” It was a significant word choice, because the Gileadites knew that [...]

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SOPORIFIC: sleep-inducing

August 15, 2011

Someone asked Mike Barnicle about his reactions to the Iowa Straw Poll.   His answer was that he was really disturbed that the Red Sox lost 2 out of 3 games to the Seattle Mariners.   I can resonate with his response. Sunday’s TV pundits are all over the place with their reports of enthusiasm, excitement, and [...]

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