Posted on 11/14/2013 4:39:32 AM PST by secret garden
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 \ˈmau̇n-ti-ˌbaŋk\ noun
1. a person who sells quack medicines from a platform
2. a boastful unscrupulous pretender : charlatan
Example sentences:
In the more open spaces, jugglers and mountebanks, usually accompanied by performing animals, went through all sorts of gambols and antics.
—Lewis Spence
Swindlers and mountebanks throng hither, adroit thieves creep stealthily about, all Indian customs and fashions are represented, all castes jostle each other.
—Karl Ritter Van Scherzer
Etymology:
Italian montimbanco, from montare to mount + in in, on +banco, banca bench. First Known Use: 1577. Mountebank, pronounced "MOUN-tih-bank," has an interesting origin, in the Italian phrase "monta in banco." It describes a "doctor" who would "mount a bench" in the marketplace. Standing a bit higher than the crowd enabled people to hear his sales pitch and see the potions and powders he claimed were medical cures that never failed — claims as bogus as his credentials. A mountebank is a fast-talking crook pretending to be an expert.
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 Thread One: Word For The Day, Thursday 11/14/02: Raffish
Review Thread Two: Word For The Day, Tuesday 1/14/03: Roister
Review Thread Three: Word For The Day, Tuesday 1/28/03: Obdurate
WFB's attempt to emulate us ; ) No pushing at the door please!
Hello kitty. A+ for you!
Missed you on my cat post.
Nope, no mention of a daddy or that she ever cooked a turkey dinner for her family. ;^)
Xshub goes off on a rant at how dads are portrayed as imbeciles on commercials/tv shows. It’s pretty pervasive how men have been devalued. I don’t see writing a novel as some high risk endeavor, personally.
I pray for your sanity bc honestly I don’t know how you haven’t killed him with your bare hands by now. I’m serious.
Sounds like that is what is going on-I always choose female dogs for pets, and I always have them spayed-never had one show any ill effects...
Well, the radical feminists of my youth wanted more sensitive, caring men-what they got was a bunch of ineffective wusses as useless as tits on a boar hog-more concerned about their looks than women. I’m in the process of putting thoughts and notes together to write my novel, as soon as I’m settled snug, happy and warm for at least through winter and next spring, but I don’t see it as risky-more like a deep sigh, sitting in the winter sun smelling winter hay, livestock and land.
That stuff used to drive MrT5 into a full-bore rant-he said he’d been a single father with custody of his two daughters from their pre-teens and he’d managed to be a parent who saw to their successful upbringing and education while still being a real man-which is true, and one of the things I loved most about him.
I haven’t met what I consider a real man in so long, I’ve given up on ever having a romantic relationship again-I’ve got bigger balls than any of them, and that’s my rant...
Oh, my GOD! I would have strangled his fat ass with my bare hands, no hesitation at all! His wife looks as if she is trying to hide a fantasy of doing just that, with that sideways, veiled glance...
How about “close the door, I ain’t heating the whole outside!”
We’d hear “Shut the door! Do we live in a barn?” followed by “Quit slamming the door!”
“Were you born in a barn?” Is how we put it.
Make a Pass.;-)
Every Girl is 2 Drinks away from a girl on girl encounter. ....Spade.
STAY OFF MY FACEBOOK PAGE! ;-)
Please. Here’s one for you.
Next time he gets on that rant, ask why they ALWAYS kill the Mother off in kids movies,
Finding Nemo, Brother Bear et al.
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