A.Word.A.Day--egregious

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egregious

(i-GREE-juhs, -jee-uhs)

adjective:
Remarkable in a bad way; flagrant.

[From Latin egregius (outstanding), from ex- (out of) + greg-, stem of grex (flock). Earlier something egregious was one that stood out because it was remarkably good. Over the centuries the word took a 180-degree turn and today it refers to something grossly offensive.]

"The most egregious example of this sort of scapegoating came last week, when Italy's Giovanni Trapattoni blamed Ecuadorean ref Byron Moreno for the Azzuri's inglorious defeat by South Korea."
Aparisim Ghosh; Lay Off the Refs; Time International; Jul 1, 2002. "Parolles: My lord, you give me most egregious indignity. Lafeu: Ay, with all my heart; and thou art worthy of it." William Shakespeare; All's Well That Ends Well.

X-Bonus

We allow our ignorance to prevail upon us and make us think we can survive alone, alone in patches, alone in groups, alone in races, even alone in genders. -Maya Angelou, poet (1928- )

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