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Joined: Mar 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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For y'all esteemed eminentos who still do not see or subscribe to tsuwm's 'Worthless Word for the Day,' here's an example of what you're missing (from Friday):the worthless word for the day is: eminento [modification of Italian eminente] an eminent person (but often used as a disparaging epithet) Hendrik Hertzberg, writing in The New Republic, attacked [R. Emmett] Tyrrell's "verbal dandyism-Chicken McMencken, perhaps": The formula is simple. First, select a person to attack. If possible, refer to him or her as the Hon. insert surname, the Rev. insert surname, or Dr. insert surname. Second, call the person a nasty name, either a heavily sarcastic one (esteemed eminento, sonorous pontificator, distinguished scholar) or simply a jeering one - bellyacher, buffoon, dolt, dunderhead, galoot, gasbag, greenhorn, half-wit, idiot, imbecile, jackass, loony, moron, nincompoop, pinhead, poltroon, popinjay, quack, rube, sap, simpleton, snot, windbag, wretch, yahoo, yokel, or zealot. Third, add an adjective (optional). Brazen, fuliginous, gaseous, gimcrack, maudlin, meretricious, piffling, portentous, sophomoric, puerile - any of these will do. Fourth, accuse the person of engaging in bibble-babble, claptrap, flapdoodle, flumdiddle, hokum, moonshine, pishposh, rumble-bumble, pronunciamentos, or tosh. Finally, work in a reference to the United States as "the Republic." You will soon be writing, or programming your computer to write, sentences such as this one, from page 21 [of The Liberal Crack-Up]: "There have always been whistle-brained pontificators at large in the Republic, all promising a New Age full of wonder and kookery." http://home.mn.rr.com/wwftd(which reminds me, does anyone have a copy of those Shakespearian insults handy?)
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
But, but, but...do we have to do it all in alphabetical order?
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
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no, no.. go back and read the example! (actually, he doesn't seem to follow much of his guidance.)
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
But, but--all the selections here are in a-order:
a jeering one - bellyacher, buffoon, dolt, dunderhead,
galoot, gasbag, greenhorn, half-wit, idiot, imbecile, jackass, loony, moron,
nincompoop, pinhead, poltroon, popinjay, quack, rube, sap, simpleton, snot,
windbag, wretch, yahoo, yokel, or zealot. Third, add an adjective
(optional). Brazen, fuliginous, gaseous, gimcrack, maudlin, meretricious,
piffling, portentous, sophomoric, puerile - any of these will do. Fourth,
accuse the person of engaging in bibble-babble, claptrap, flapdoodle,
flumdiddle, hokum, moonshine, pishposh, rumble-bumble, pronunciamentos, or
tosh.
Ack--why all the weird spacing?
And--is whistle-brained the same as airhead?
EDIT--even weirder (to me): when I copied the above, and now again as I'm editing it, the quote has about 3 times as many lines as show up in public; many with just one word.
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
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yes, all of his suggestions are indeed alphabetized (within categories), but when he puts together an example sentence he doesn't much follow his own suggestions. is what I was pointing out. there.
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
tsuwm, come here a minute...
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