Words of the Week - April 1
Dictionary lookups from Congress, the White House, and the Oscars (sort of)
’Exaggerate’
A story involving a congressman from North Carolina, accounts of Sardanapalian excess, and the very nature of truth itself continued to unfold when it was suggested that Madison Cawthorn had exaggerated when he said he had been invited to drug-fueled orgies upon arriving in Congress.
McCarthy went on to suggest that Cawthorn had either exaggerated or entirely made up the allegations. "He did not tell the truth. That's unacceptable," the California Republican said.
— Chris Cillizza, CNN, 31 Mar. 2022
When employed as a verb, as when describing orgies that may not have actually been orgiastic, exaggerate means “to enlarge beyond bounds or the truth.” The word may also mean “to enlarge or increase especially beyond the normal.” When exaggerate first came into use in English, in the early 16th century, it had the meaning “to heap up, to accumulate.”
’Partner’
Partner was also in the news after it was reported that Russian television hosts were referring to Donald Trump as an example of such.
Trump asks Putin for Biden dirt; Russian state TV calls to “again help our partner Trump”
— (headline) Salon.com, 30 Mar. 2022
There are many possible meanings of partner; it may be assumed that in this instance “one associated with another especially in an action” is more relevant than “one of two or more persons who play together in a game against an opposing side” or “one of the heavy timbers that strengthen a ship's deck to support a mast” (a sense that is usually found in plural use).
Partner is frequently found in legal contexts, often modified by another word. A partner whose liability for partnership debts and obligations is unlimited is a general partner. One who has no management authority in a venture, and whose liability is limited to the amount of his or her investment is a limited partner. And a partner who takes no active part in conducting the partnership business but who receives a share of its profits and whose existence is often not made public is referred to as a silent (or a dormant) partner
’Gaffe’
On the other side of the political aisle, President Biden caused the word gaffe to spike in lookups, after he finished a speech with comments on Vladimir Putin that some felt were geopolitically inapt.
US President Joe Biden was once again spotted carrying a cheat sheet containing talking points related to his comments on Vladimir Putin, in what appeared to be an attempt at avoiding another gaffe.
— Stuti Mishra, The Independent (London, Eng.), 29 Mar. 2022
We define gaffe as either “a social or diplomatic blunder” or “a noticeable mistake.” It is borrowed from French, and is believed to be a sense development of the same word (gaffe), going back to Middle French, and which was borrowed from Old Occitan gaf (it was probably derivative of gafar, meaning "to seize," of obscure origin).
’Dramatic’
The actor Daniel Radcliffe fashioned an elegant oxymoron and used it to express the feelings of untold millions, when he described himself as dramatically ‘bored’ of hearing about a recent contretemps.
Daniel Radcliffe Says He's 'Dramatically Bored of Hearing' Opinions About Will Smith Oscars Slap
— Jen Juneau, Yahoo!, 31 Mar. 2022
Dramatically is defined, unsurprisingly, as “in a dramatic manner.” Dramatic itself is most often used in the senses “often showing a lot of emotion : tending to behave and react in an exaggerated way” and “striking in appearance or effect.” Other definitions of dramatic include “of or relating to the drama,” “suitable to or characteristic of the drama,” and “having a powerful voice and a declamatory style.” This last one is typically used of an opera singer, and in such circumstances may be contrasted with opera singers who are lyric.
Words You Should Know: ‘Ultracrepidarian’
This week’s word you should know is ultracrepidarian, defined as “going beyond one’s province or sphere; presumptuous.” The word may also function as a noun, used in reference to a person who behaves this way; the verb form ultracrepidate is defined as “to go beyond one’s sphere or province.”
Although these words may be found in our 1934 Unabridged Dictionary we do not currently enter any of them. The reason for this is that they have largely fallen out of use. This is somewhat odd, as there is certainly no shortage of people who feel comfortable offering advice and judgment on things about which they know little, but such is the way of language.
