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Posted By: billpy Putting words in my mouth - 03/15/01 06:44 PM
Does anyone know of a word that means, to put words in someone's mouth?

The only word I could think of would be to misquote, but that is not exactly what I mean.

An example would be, "Every time I attempted to explain to her what I meant, she purposely misconstrued what I said, as if she was trying to put words in my mouth."

I'm looking for a word that means the act of misstating or misquoting someone, presumably with the intent to distort for their own advantage or motive.

Got any ideas?

Thanks for your help.

Bill Py



Posted By: Anonymous Re: Putting words in my mouth - 03/15/01 07:22 PM
What an interesting question... (and welcome a-Board, billpy!)

i couldn't find anything (which isn't saying much ) but in my searches i did stumble upon this, which is at least tangentially correlated:


metastasis - casual mention of a subject as if it were unimportant; responding to a person's criticism or insult with a riposte that uses or plays on his or her words (rhetoric term)

i thought this was an intriguing twist of the more common meaning of metastasis, which deals with the transfer of cancerous cells to previously healthy sites. it reminds me of a Readers' Digest quote that my mom had displayed above the kitchen sink, where we were all sure to see it often: "Never answer an angry word with an angry word. It's the second one that makes the quarrel"


and BTW, can someone explain what dictionaries mean when they call a term "rhetoric"? are they using rhetoric to indicate that its use would be circumfloribus ?

Posted By: wwh Re: Putting words in my mouth - 03/15/01 07:27 PM
Perhaps a phrase, rather than a single word. How about "maliciously misquote"?

Posted By: tsuwm Re: Putting words in my mouth - 03/15/01 07:28 PM
re: rhetoric - here's a wonderful site I use for reference

http://humanities.byu.edu/rhetoric/silva.htm

Posted By: billpy Re: Putting words in my mouth - 03/15/01 07:52 PM
Thanks for the welcome Bridget!

I didn't know the word "metastasis" had such an alternate meaning. Still, I don't think its what I'm looking for.

Also, I'm hoping to find a single word rather than a phrase to fit the bill, but I may have to settle on "maliciously misquote." Hopefully we'll get lots of responses to this thread and see what shakes out :)

Bill


Posted By: Hyla Re: Putting words in my mouth - 03/15/01 08:12 PM
Welcome billpy -

It's not one word but two, but I think you came up with the best answer to your question: "purposely misconstrue." Makes it perfectly clear to me what the person in question was doing, damn her.

Posted By: tsuwm Re: Putting words in my mouth - 03/15/01 08:28 PM
here's a word that comes ever so close: logodaedaly /LAHG uh DED uh lee/ - verbal legerdemain or the cunning use of words

Posted By: wow Re: Putting words in my mouth - 03/15/01 09:18 PM
misstating or misquoting someone, presumably with the intent to distort for their own advantage or motive.

Passive-agressive. Oh, that's behavio(u)r.
wow

Posted By: Jackie Re: Putting words in my mouth - 03/15/01 11:40 PM
Welcome aBoard, Bill P.

Well, there's insinuate. Also, I have been told I am good at twisting words.

Posted By: wwh Re: Putting words in my mouth - 03/16/01 01:09 AM
" logodaedaly /LAHG uh DED uh lee/ - verbal legerdemain or the cunning use of words"

What a "deadly" word to use again one's opponent in a debate! I'm surprised it hasn't been used frequently in Washington,D.C.


Posted By: NicholasW Re: Putting words in my mouth - 03/16/01 09:26 AM
logodaedaly /LAHG uh DED uh lee/

Or /LOG o DEED uh li/* depending on where you went to school.

I'm tempted to invent a word underquote, a portmanteau with undercut, or cut the ground from under, but alas the meaning/pun isn't obvious enough.

* I have edited this... I thought I'd edited it before. Wha hoppen?

Posted By: maverick Re: Putting words in my mouth - 03/16/01 01:31 PM
tempted to invent a word

How about disinterquote - trying to compound the suggestion of dissing, placing into, and the original quote (whilst suggestive of disintegration)?

Posted By: Max Quordlepleen Re: Putting words in my mouth - 03/16/01 05:16 PM
How about disinterquote?


Ingenious. May I proffer, inspired by your work, malin(ter)quote?

Posted By: maverick Re: Putting words in my mouth - 03/16/01 06:24 PM
I quite like that, Max. What if it just used the mal stem in a shorter form - say, malaquote?

Posted By: AnnaStrophic Re: Putting words in my mouth - 03/16/01 07:55 PM
I love malaquote, Max & Mav.

Also, for a *real word, how about "second-guess"?

Posted By: Max Quordlepleen Re: Putting words in my mouth - 03/16/01 08:45 PM
What if it just used the mal stem in a shorter form - say, malaquote

By Jove, Jeeves, I do think you've got it. Time to leap out of the tub and run naked down the street, shouting "malaquote"! That and get Faldage to use his connexions at the OED to help propagate the word.

Posted By: Capital Kiwi Re: Putting words in my mouth - 03/17/01 09:39 PM
Would you use "maladroit" if you were left-handed?

Posted By: AnnaStrophic Re: Putting words in my mouth - 03/18/01 01:32 PM
Would you use "maladroit" if you were left-handed?

Sure would!

Posted By: wwh Re: Putting words in my mouth - 03/18/01 01:45 PM
What word would mean "stop being a ventriloquist putting words in my mouth, I'm no dummy" ?

Posted By: NicholasW Malaquote! - 03/19/01 08:24 AM
A most excellent, serendipitous, and Archimedean word. Malaquote! Well done.

Posted By: maverick Re: Malaquote! - 03/19/01 03:47 PM
.. and having the merit, like so many promising children, of more than two parents!

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