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Jun 26, 2008
This week's themeWhose what? This week's words deadman's hand yeoman's service bum's rush devil's advocate widow's walk 
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with Anu Gargdevil's advocatePRONUNCIATION:
(DEV-uhlz AD-vuh-kuht)
MEANING:
noun: One who argues against something for the sake of argument, for example, to provoke discussion and subject a plan to thorough examination.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin advocatus diaboli (devil's advocate). The Roman Catholic Church
used to have a person appointed as a devil's advocate to argue against
elevating someone to sainthood. The person arguing for the proposition was
known as God's advocate (Latin advocatus dei).
USAGE:
"A devil's advocate would ask what's wrong with offering a scholarship
to, say, an eighth-grader?"Jerry Tipton; Coaches to Curb Youth Movement; Herald-Leader (Lexington, Kentucky); Jun 15, 2008. See more usage examples of devil's advocate in Vocabulary.com's dictionary. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Do not think of knocking out another person's brains because he differs in opinion from you. It would be as rational to knock yourself on the head because you differ from yourself ten years ago. -Horace Mann, educational reformer (1796-1859)
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