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Word For The Day, Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - mountebank
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary Word of the Day ^ | 11/16/2011 | The Slacker

Posted on 11/16/2011 6:30:32 AM PST by VRWCmember



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".

mountebank \MOUN-tih-bank\ - noun

1. a person who sells quack medicines from a platform
2. a boastful unscrupulous pretender; charlatan

Example sentence:

In his newspaper column, Gavin criticized the talk-radio host as "a mountebank whose 'expert' opinions and advice are complete hooey."

Extra Example sentence:

"Bring your five-minute tales related to all things fraudulent and pseudo. Flimflammers, mountebanks, poseurs and snake oil salesmen especially welcome." -- From a literary events listing by Gina Webb in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 25, 2011

Did you know?
"Mountebank" derives from the Italian "montimbanco," which was formed by combining the verb "montare" ("to mount"), the preposition "in" (converted to "im," meaning "in" or "on"), and the noun "banco" ("bench"). Put these components together and you can deduce the literal origins of "mountebank" as someone mounted on a bench -- the "bench" being the platform on which charlatans from the 16th and 17th centuries would stand to sell their phony medicines. Mountebanks often included various forms of light entertainment on stage in order to attract customers. Later, extended uses of "mountebank" referred to someone who falsely claims to have knowledge about a particular subject or a person who simply pretends to be something he or she is not in order to gain attention.

Rules: Everyone must leave a post using the Word for the Day in a sentence.
The sentence must, in some way, relate to the news of the day.

The Review threads are linked for your edification. ;-)
Practice makes perfect.....post on....


Review Threads:
Review Thread One: Word For The Day, Thursday 11/14/02: Raffish (Be SURE to check out posts #92 and #111 on this thread!)
Review Thread Two: Word For The Day, Tuesday 1/14/03: Roister
Review Thread Three: Word For The Day, Tuesday 1/28/03: Obdurate
Review Thread Four: Word For the Day, Friday 7/25/03: Potation
Review Thread Five: Word For the Day, Monday 8/19/03: Stolid
Review Thread Six: Word for the Day, Tuesday 11/09/2004: Peripatetic (Post #125 may be my best anagram post ever)


TOPICS: Word For The Day
KEYWORDS:
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To: Mr. Lucky

RCMP? That would be the Royal Canadian Mounte Pythons? Probably somewhere in the Rocky Mountes.


21 posted on 11/16/2011 7:30:08 AM PST by count-your-change (You don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough.)
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To: xsmommy

:D


22 posted on 11/16/2011 7:30:08 AM PST by Winstons Julia (Hello OWS? We don't need a revolution like China's; China needs a revolution like OURS.)
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To: SoothingDave

Maybe my parents will try to secede from the county.....again.


23 posted on 11/16/2011 7:32:20 AM PST by Explorer89 (And now, let the wild rumpus start!!)
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To: SoothingDave; Explorer89
Where do you keep....your's....?
24 posted on 11/16/2011 7:48:11 AM PST by xsmommy
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To: VRWCmember

I’ve noticed that many of your chosen words describe nobama. Is that done on purpose?


25 posted on 11/16/2011 7:50:33 AM PST by upchuck (Rerun: Think you know hardship? Wait till the dollar is no longer the world's reserve currency.)
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To: VRWCmember

Being a mountebank, Obama is antagonistic to other types of banks.


26 posted on 11/16/2011 7:54:12 AM PST by PzLdr ("The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am" - Darth Vader)
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To: xsmommy

Buried it down by the creek.


27 posted on 11/16/2011 8:22:46 AM PST by Explorer89 (And now, let the wild rumpus start!!)
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To: Explorer89

so will you be cooking a turkey for Tgiving dinner? do they have them over there?


28 posted on 11/16/2011 8:28:54 AM PST by xsmommy
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To: xsmommy

Had a turkey last year. Rome this year :)


29 posted on 11/16/2011 9:20:41 AM PST by Explorer89 (And now, let the wild rumpus start!!)
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To: Explorer89

oh that’ll be nice. 3 years ago this thanksgiving, xsgirls and i had Tgiving dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe in Rome after seeing the Twilight movie at the Piazza di Populo movie theater.


30 posted on 11/16/2011 9:25:04 AM PST by xsmommy
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To: VRWCmember

The Obama regime is chock full to the brim with mountebanks, charlatans, grifters, and con-man. Those that don’t qualify for any of those monikers are simple idiots.

Nov. 2012...replace the whole lot.


31 posted on 11/16/2011 9:27:00 AM PST by hoagy62 (The United States of America. Great idea...while it lasted.)
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To: xsmommy

Did they have a Thanksgiving dinner? In general, I shun American chain restaurants, but I could change my mind if it meant Thanksgiving!


32 posted on 11/16/2011 9:44:46 AM PST by Explorer89 (And now, let the wild rumpus start!!)
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To: Explorer89

yes they had a prix fixe thanksgiving meal. it was the only american restaurant we ate in that week but we wanted american food for Tgiving!


33 posted on 11/16/2011 10:03:43 AM PST by xsmommy
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34 posted on 11/16/2011 10:09:53 AM PST by TheOldLady (FReepmail me to get ON or OFF the ZOT LIGHTNING ping list)
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To: count-your-change

ouch.


35 posted on 11/16/2011 10:12:35 AM PST by Mr. Lucky
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To: Explorer89

You gotta get tired of Italian food every once in a while!


36 posted on 11/16/2011 10:24:16 AM PST by SoothingDave
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To: xsmommy; SoothingDave

Oooh, that sounds like a plan. And I do miss American food. I am totally jonesing for some macaroni salad.


37 posted on 11/16/2011 10:39:30 AM PST by Explorer89 (And now, let the wild rumpus start!!)
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To: Explorer89

do they have mayo? seems you have the macaroni aspect covered! there was a pretty long wait, so factor that in, don’t know if they take reservations or not, but it was worth the wait.


38 posted on 11/16/2011 10:44:03 AM PST by xsmommy
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To: Explorer89

Macaroni salad? It’s Thanksgiving, not 4th of July.


39 posted on 11/16/2011 10:47:00 AM PST by SoothingDave
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To: xsmommy

It was good, then? I will have to poll la famiglia to see what they think. I am going to do a turkey for Christmas. I have never made my own macaroni salad. It might be time to try.


40 posted on 11/16/2011 10:47:08 AM PST by Explorer89 (And now, let the wild rumpus start!!)
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