I was watching a show on the History channel about where our words came from. They listed words coined by various presidents over the years, Like Jefferson being the first to use “Indescribable” yet then turned right around and said Bush coined nonsense words like “Misunderestimate”
I want to know why it wasn’t nonsense for Jefferson to make up words but Bush is accused of making up false words.
> ...yet then turned right around and said Bush coined nonsense words like “Misunderestimate”
Evidently, President Bush coined a useful word — “misunderestimating” was used by Peter Catapano in a New York Times article on April 29, 2011:
Excerpt: Are we misunderestimating the man who has monopolized an outsized portion of a vast media space in recent weeks and forced the hand of the President of the United States?
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/29/dont-stop-believing/
It’s a cultural thing.
For some, dysprecision in language is the norm.