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wood on words
An RKO commentator opined, "Everyone in America knows there is a stigmatism attached (to politicians) from Massachusetts." Close, but the cheroot eludes. Listen up! Stigma should replace stigmatism.
Best comparison heard in the palindromic year just gone by: "Slower than a slug in a glue pot." (Due credit to radio station WRKO Boston, USA.)
But fair is fair, and it was an RKO commentator who opined, "Everyone in America knows there is a stigmatism attached (to politicians) from Massachusetts." Close, but the cheroot eludes. Listen up! Stigmatism means "the condition of being affected by stigmata." Stigmata is a plural of stigma. Noun stigma signifies "A mark or token of infamy, disgrace, or reproach. 2) a small mark; a scar or birthmark....
Stigma works, and should replace stigmatism, which may also mean "normal eyesight." One will wager that most listeners heard astigmatism-a kind of visual defect-and totally lost sight of whatever the message was supposed to be.
And the mention of a scar (just above) calls to mind a solecism uttered by U.S. TV news anchor Tom Brokaw in early November: Said Mr. B., "For many, the scars...