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Today's Word For The Day, ENORMITY, has changed over the years. It ORIGINALLY MEANT A GRAVE SIN OR MORAL SHORTCOMING. i.e e-norm meaning NOT NORMAL. But today it is used to suggest a relational size of something..... e·nor·mi·ty iˈnôrmədē/ noun noun: enormity; plural noun: enormities 1. the great or extreme scale, seriousness, or extent of something perceived as bad or morally wrong. "a thorough search disclosed the full enormity of the crime" (in neutral use) the large size or scale of something. "I began to get a sense of the enormity of the task" synonyms: immensity, hugeness; More size, extent,...

In a speech to the National Governors Association last month, President Obama said about his first stimulus package, “I just want to make sure that we’re having an honest debate and presenting to the American people a fulsome accounting of what is going on in this program.” He meant full, in the sense of “complete,” even “abundant” or “copious,” which is what that wordmeant in the Middle Ages. But by the 16th century, fulsome’s meaning had taken “full” overboard, to “satiating, cloying, excessive.” Shakespeare used it often, meaning “loathsome” and “rank with lust.” The O.E.D. defines its application to language...

A few months ago, before Barack Obama became the linguist-in-chief, I made a note to myself to write a column about the need to exterminate a pest. The pest kept popping up in my TV. In my e-mail inbox. In the mouths of people far more eloquent than I. The pest's name: enormity.

New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) has long been rumored as desperately seeking the democratic nomination for president in 2008. And while many political observers fully expect the power hungry former First Lady to hit the campaign trail within only a few months of being re-elected as a US Senator in 2006, US News & World report claims to have a confirmation of sorts. From USNews.Com's Washington Whispers: Hillary's in… You don't have to take it from us about Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton 's desire to run for president. Her brothers, Hugh and Tony Rodham, say it's true. Friends...

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Thirteen government agents pile into unmarked sport utility vehicles and dark sedans in the basement garage of downtown's federal building. Their assignment: Crash the homes of 16 illegal immigrants and deport them. It is an increasingly common scene across the nation. The federal government wants to catch the nearly half-million immigrants who either have ducked deportation orders or are targets for removal because they were convicted of a crime. The size and complexity of the mission is staggering. Even as the government pours millions into enforcement, each year the number of new fugitives far exceeds the...