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)
Dude, the thought hit me, and just because I can’t get it, I want it. Redner’s in Eastern Pennsylvania has the BEST.
Well i am not going to say it was the best Tgiving dinner ever, but it was decent and American on a day we wanted American. i think my own Tgiving dinner is the best ever! it is my fave meal of the year and i only make turkey for Tgiving, we have ham for christmas. i love the leftovers etc. May get a small honeybaked ham for when xsboy comes home, xsgirls have been agitating for ham.
No, I simply choose whatever word M-W Online has selected as its word of the day to post here.
75 and beautiful wioth a cool front on the way tonight...
Obama’s latest idiotic speech
Is just bound to amaze ‘ya-
He was brought up in Hawaii
But he thinks it is in Asia
Any truly practiced mountebank
Would think about what they said
And not start blabbing anything
That had come into their head
It seems Obama is not that bright-
With every appearance he makes
He reminds us of Jimmy Carter
And how we rewarded HIS mistakes
Which is totally in keeping with your slackerdom ; )
They have LeTang crushes too! There is just something about him.
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