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A word I've not seen for some time, and had to look up.
"You are a specious fellow,’ returned Sir John, fixing his eyes upon him, ‘and carry two faces under your hood, as well as the best. Didn’t you give me in this room, this evening, any other reason; no dislike of anybody who has slighted you lately, on all occasions, abused you, treated you with rudeness; acted towards you, more as if you were a mongrel dog than a man like himself?’"
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SPECIOUS Pronunciation: 'speeshus
Matching Terms: specious argument, speciously, speciousness
WordNet Dictionary Definition: [adj] based on pretense; deceptively pleasing; "the gilded and perfumed but inwardly rotten nobility"; "meretricious praise"; "a meretricious argument" [adj] plausible but false; "a specious claim" [adj] plausible but false; "specious reasoning"; "the spurious inferences from obsolescent notions of causality"- Ethel Albert Synonyms: false, gilded, insincere, invalid, meretricious, spurious
Webster's 1913 Dictionary Definition: \Spe"cious\, a. [L. speciosusgood-looking, beautiful, specious, fr. species look, show, appearance; cf. F. sp['e]coeux. See {Species}.] 1. Presenting a pleasing appearance; pleasing in form or look; showy.
Some [serpents] specious and beautiful to the eye. --Bp. Richardson.
The rest, far greater part, Will deem in outward rites and specious forms Religion satisfied. --Milton.
2. Apparently right; superficially fair, just, or correct, but not so in reality; appearing well at first view; plausible; as, specious reasoning; a specious argument.
Misled for a moment by the specious names of religion, liberty, and property. --Macaulay.
In consequence of their greater command of specious expression. --J. Morley.
Syn: Plausible; showy; ostensible; colorable; feasible. See {Plausible}. -- {Spe"xious*ly}, adv. -- {Spe"cious*ness}, n.
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Carpal Tunnel
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I hadn't read the 'gilded' application before, but think it is good. A flatterer would be given to using specious claims or gilded ones to promote the well-being of someone he wished, ultimately, to dupe.
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For a specious explanation of 'gilded' , remember 'specie' means money in the form of coins,e.g. gold.
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In Gibbon's day specious seems to have meant attractive or plausible without necessarily meaning false. For example from Chapter XVI of the Decline and Fall: A reason has been assigned for the conduct of the emperors towards the primitive Christians, which may appear the more specious and probable as it is drawn from the acknowledged genius of Polytheism. http://www.ccel.org/g/gibbon/decline/volume1/chap16.htmBingley
Bingley
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