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A.Word.A.Day--mirabile dictu

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mirabile dictu (mee-RAH-bi-lay DIK-too) interjection

Strange to say; wonderful to relate.

[Latin.]

"A hot-air balloon drifts slowly over a bottomless chasm, carrying several passengers ... Back in the balloon, something longed-for and heartening has happened. On this occasion, mirabile dictu, the many have not been sacrificed but saved." Salman Rushdie, What is my single life worth? A speech on the occasion of the 200th Anniversary of the First Amendment, delivered at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, New York, Dec 1991.

This week's theme: words from speeches.

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