A.Word.A.Day --coulrophobia

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Today's Word

coulrophobia

PRONUNCIATION:

(kool-ruh-FOH-bee-uh)

MEANING:

noun: The fear of clowns.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Greek kolobatheron (stilt) + -phobia (fear). Earliest documented use: 1980s.

USAGE:

“They all share my coulrophobia with Congressional clowns and presidential hopefuls.”
Fred Pfisterer; Which Came First, Clowns or the Politicians?; The News Leader (Staunton, Virginia); Mar 6, 2016.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -Isaac Asimov, scientist and writer (1920-1992)

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“A large vocabulary is like an artist having a big palette of colors. We don’t have to use all the colors in a single painting, but it helps to be able to find just the right shade when we need it.”

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