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Word for the Day: POSTICHE
2000 Most Challenging and Obscure Words | Norman Schur

Posted on 11/03/2015 5:52:00 PM PST by Louis Foxwell

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In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day".

postiche [paw STEESH]

hear it pronounced

adjective

A superflous and inappropriate addition to a finished work, like a sculpture or other ornament stuck onto a building, may be described as postiche.

More generally, postiche applies to things counterfeit or false.

As a noun, a postiche is a superfluous and unbecoming addition, a sham, an imitation of or substitute for the real thing, a pretense, and in a special use, a wig or hairpiece, a particular type of replacement of the genuine article.

Postiche was taken from the French, where it has all those meanings; they got it from the italian posticcio or apposticcio (artificial, sham; capelli apposticci means "false hair"); and they took it from the Latin apposticius (false, put on).

A more common synonymous expression is "gilding the lily".

Of course all this makes us think, inexorably, of Donald's hair, explicitly NOT postiche but madly accused of being such, as, arguably, is the man himself.


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To: Louis Foxwell

The Hungarian Rhapsody is not really gypsy music, but a pastiche.


21 posted on 11/03/2015 6:44:22 PM PST by Mamzelle
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To: Rodamala

You win.


22 posted on 11/03/2015 6:45:05 PM PST by Mamzelle
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To: Louis Foxwell

Naha... Like I need. A banana leaf. :-) Better looking than that fairy too.


23 posted on 11/03/2015 6:47:23 PM PST by LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget (God punishes Conservatives by making them argue with fools: Go Trump!)
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To: Louis Foxwell

I thought I was finished wiping but a pastiche soiled the paper, and amazing spelled FUBO.


24 posted on 11/03/2015 6:48:05 PM PST by King Moonracer (Bad lighting and cheap fabric, that's how you sell clothing.....)
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To: Louis Foxwell
The single most famous (or infamous) pastiche of them all, is the supposed "homosexuals manifesto", allegedly written by a homosexual outlining what their true agenda is - but in reality, even in the first paragraph, states he wrote it in hyperbole, playing on breeders' fears.

And to this day, people accept it as truth.

25 posted on 11/04/2015 4:15:30 AM PST by Old Sarge
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To: Twinkie
Obama is indeed a postiche. Whether on the ass or the face of Uncle Sam is a matter of emphasis. He has, indeed, disfigured our country. Far from grafted in to the tree of liberty he is a canker on its trunk, as is Hillary. Good usage.


26 posted on 11/04/2015 4:50:50 AM PST by Louis Foxwell (This is a wake up call. Join the Sultan Knish ping list.)
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To: Calpublican
Yesss. Boehner is the perfect illustration of a postiche, pasted on the country's leadership as a rotten, drunken corruption.


27 posted on 11/04/2015 4:53:33 AM PST by Louis Foxwell (This is a wake up call. Join the Sultan Knish ping list.)
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To: Panzerlied
Yes he is. A witless embellishment lending nothing of value and corrupting the essence of the office of POTUS.


28 posted on 11/04/2015 4:56:12 AM PST by Louis Foxwell (This is a wake up call. Join the Sultan Knish ping list.)
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To: Louis Foxwell
Amazingly, OH refused to become a postiche on the patchwork of drug-addled states of America.
29 posted on 11/04/2015 5:03:03 AM PST by xsmommy
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To: Louis Foxwell

Obama has found his true niche
Post-American, puerile postiche
And as for his wife
The true “love of his life”
She’s a heartless, mean-spirited biche


30 posted on 11/04/2015 5:11:44 AM PST by TruthShallSetYouFree (If Hillary's last name were anything but Clinton, she'd already be behind bars.)
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To: Mamzelle

Liszt wrote 15 Hungarian Rhapsodys. As one of the greatest pianists ever he was enormously prolific. Much of his work has never been performed due largely to the immensity of his production.
His vast body of work is seminal and may never be adequately employed.


31 posted on 11/04/2015 5:13:03 AM PST by Louis Foxwell (This is a wake up call. Join the Sultan Knish ping list.)
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To: jsanders2001
Obamacare is a postiche become cancer on the body of healthcare.


32 posted on 11/04/2015 5:15:46 AM PST by Louis Foxwell (This is a wake up call. Join the Sultan Knish ping list.)
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To: Old Sarge
Over the years here at FR we have seen satire become reality. The postiche of inflamed perverted libidinal excess has become normative. The trappings become the thing itself. This is the simple travesty of postiche that a foolish embellishment comes to define the underlying work. Excellent find, Sarge.

Honorable Mention Award:


33 posted on 11/04/2015 5:29:21 AM PST by Louis Foxwell (This is a wake up call. Join the Sultan Knish ping list.)
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To: xsmommy
The Amish win again.

Nice catch.


34 posted on 11/04/2015 5:32:48 AM PST by Louis Foxwell (This is a wake up call. Join the Sultan Knish ping list.)
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To: TruthShallSetYouFree
I have been saving this award just for such an occasion. Congratulations on an excellent limerick.


35 posted on 11/04/2015 5:35:00 AM PST by Louis Foxwell (This is a wake up call. Join the Sultan Knish ping list.)
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To: Louis Foxwell; SoothingDave; NeoCaveman; tioga
this was excellent news last night. AND Virginia, despite McAuliffe's best efforts, and a ton of outside $, kept the state senate in republican hands.
36 posted on 11/04/2015 5:56:24 AM PST by xsmommy
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To: xsmommy; NeoCaveman

Yeah, but I won’t be able to pick up some pot to go with my fireworks from Ohio next year.


37 posted on 11/04/2015 6:09:42 AM PST by SoothingDave
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To: SoothingDave

As if it’s difficult to buy pot, anywhere.


38 posted on 11/04/2015 6:11:41 AM PST by NeoCaveman (DC, it's Versailles on the Potomac but without the food and culture)
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To: Louis Foxwell

I have a postiche on my collar bone, but the dermatoligist will take it off!


39 posted on 11/04/2015 6:16:19 AM PST by afraidfortherepublic
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To: afraidfortherepublic
A postiche on your collar bone, hmmm, sounds like a necklace. Yes, I am sure the dermotologist will be happy to rid you of this impediment.


40 posted on 11/04/2015 6:20:01 AM PST by Louis Foxwell (This is a wake up call. Join the Sultan Knish ping list.)
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