A.Word.A.Day--rodomontade
(rod-uh-mon-TAYD)
noun: Pretentious boasting.
adjective: Bragging.
verb intr.: To boast; brag.
[From Middle French, from Italian Rodomonte, the boastful king in Orlando
Innamorato by Matteo Boiardo and Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto.]
"It is difficult to believe that a reformed and tempered man would agree
to a poster of himself with the following copy:
'The sum of the amusement world from which all lesser luminaries borrow
light. Born in the town of Bethel, Conn., July 5, 1810. Started as
a showman in 1835. He has conceived and exhibited more gigantic
amusements and enterprises than any other showman that ever lived.
(He) is the wealthiest manager on the face of the Earth and projector
and builder of a great city, (he) has been the frequent guest of
emperors, kings and queens. Once mayor of Bridgeport, Conn., 4 times
member of state legislature, an editor, an able writer and a popular
lecturer in Europe and America.'
Rodomontade and modesty aside, there is a serious Barnum worthy of our
attention."
Ricky Jay; America's Prince of Humbug P.T. Barnum; Los Angeles Times;
Sep 17, 1989.
X-Bonus
There is no rule more invariable than that we are paid for our suspicions
by finding what we suspect. -Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author
(1817-1862)