Posted on 09/27/2016 11:26:47 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A lexicographer with Merriam-Webster says Donald Trump isn’t making up words — he’s just using them all wrong.
One of the stranger moments in Monday night’s presidential debate came when Donald Trump looked Hillary Clinton in the eye to make an important point about taxation. “I’m going to cut taxes bigly. And you’re going to raise taxes bigly.”
And then Twitter had a minor explosion — smaller than the sniffling but maybe bigger than the 400-pound hacker. People wondered aloud if the Republican candidate, so often critiqued for being flexible with facts, had just made up a word.
But lexicographer Kory Stamper, who writes and edits dictionary definitions for Merriam-Webster, wants it known that bigly is a real word — even if it’s not the word Trump meant to use.
“For the record, I think Donald Trump meant to say big league,” says Stamper (who will save her thoughts on braggadocios for another moment). “He’s used this construction for the past year but it’s hard to understand because he swallows the final g in league." Monday night was not the first time the public has reacted to Trump's presumed use of the term. You can say it's been a bigly deal before.
Stamper adds: "I often have trouble parsing what he’s trying to say, and I think that’s a common experience.”
But she has a message for anyone who thinks Trump made this one up. “What’s fascinating is that everyone assumes it’s not a word,” she says. “But it is.”
Stamper offers a brief history of the word bigly. This adverb came into use around 1400 and stuck around for roughly 500 years. It has been used two different ways over the centuries.
The first meaning, says Stamper, was to mean “with great force or violently or strongly.” It appeared in such fashion in the classic King Arthur tale Le Morte d’Arthur, published way back in 1485: “So roughly and so bigly that none might withstand him,” wrote Sir Thomas Malory.
The second meaning, which has been more popular in recent centuries, means “boastfully, haughtily or proudly.” Thomas Hardy put it to use in his 1874 novel Far From the Madding Crowd: “I don’t see that I deserve to be put upon and stormed out for nothing, concluded the small woman bigly.”
And then, about 120 years ago, the word mostly disappeared from use. Until Trump said it — or sounded like he said. Either way, that doesn’t mean it’s not a real word. “People are suddenly talking about bigly but I really don’t think we’re going to see many people use it in context,” says Stamper. “I don’t think it will stick around”
But what about big league? Not surprisingly, the lexicographer has thoughts about that, too. “In the way that Donald Trump is using it, he means a synonym of big time or completely,” says Stamper. “So when he says something like ‘I’m going to cut taxes big league — or bigly, I guess —what he means is ‘I’m going to cut taxes to a huge, excessive extent.’”
Big league began as a noun (he got called up to the big leagues) and then became an adjective (she’s a big-league talent), but Stamper says Trump is breaking new ground by using big league as an adverb.
“The whole thing is pretty funny,” she says. “I mean, whether he means big league or bigly doesn’t really matter — he’s not using an established use of either of those words in either case. A presidential debate is pretty formal and I’d think you’d want to use language that is widely understood by most of the people listening to you. But Trump doesn’t seem to do that."
The snark is strong in this one.
I want Trump to win just so I can watch those condescending twits’ heads explode.
Trump is actually saying “big league”, NOT “bigly”! Buy those who can’t hear properly, a damned hearing aid!
Don’t misunderestimate Mr. Trump. You will regret it bigly.
#DeplorableLivesMatter
I agree, he was saying “big league”.
In any case, Hillary is going to lose this election BIGLY.
And another Republican President brought the word “normalcy” into our common American lexicon.
Well at least it doesn’t depend on what the meaning of is, is.
I’m sick of the circumlocutious silver tongues pissing down my back and telling me it’s rain. I like what Trump is saying just fine. I like it bigly in fact. LOL
Well, Thank you Mr. Flax. We are all embiggened by your sharing your vast knowledge. We are glad that ‘Bigly’ is a perfectly cromulent word, except for the way that the dunce Trump uses it.
/s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcxsgZxqnEg
And yes, I too believe that Hillary shall lose BIGLY!
Does it really matter? The people, actual Americans knew exactly what he meant.
“Trump is actually saying “big league”, NOT “bigly”!
==
Yup, “big league”, something like saying “big time”. Goes back to his NYC roots.
Not that I don’t like “bigly” - I think it a great term - but that’s not what he’s saying.
Bigly is going to be YUGE!
And before anyone wants to rag on me, I'm NYC born & bred, but from Manhattan. NYC ( composed of 5 different boroughs )has more different accents than you can shake a stick at! One can go a couple of blocks, in any borough and hear a totally different NYC accent. Accents also change from generation to generation.
I rather like "bigly", myself, and the first definition does actually suit what he is saying...re Hillary raising taxes on us.
I’ve heard big league in some of the live rallies I’ve watched. at least I thought it was “big league”
There is a special meaning here....
Trump is going to go medieval on the IRS...
I hope he does. It is unconstitutional. Americans began to lose their wealth when this disgusting system was established.
Shakespeare used the word....it should be good enough for Trump.
In my area of Long Island, we used Major League.
“Crooked Hillary is a Major League criminal.”
If you needed an adverb, you used Big Time.
“I’m gonna wipe the floor with her Big Time in November.”
Now that the word “bigly” has been found to be acceptable, I can now say that der Hildebeast is bigly and that does not say a thing about her rear end. Putting lipstick on Mrs Bigly is a major feat.
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