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!
If I remember correctly, the thing that got Rick Perry in trouble about illegal aliens was wanting them to be able to go to school and then get their citizenship.
They are here, they came as young children with their parents, since there seems to be no way to send families back across the river he wanted the kids to be educated.
We can have a growing pool of lawn keepers (there is so shortage of them now) or let them go to school and get an education and join legal society. Perry suggested that and had the sh*t kicked out of him.
He was also on board for giving them instate tuition prices for Texas colleges, getting the benefit of residency while US citizens from other states would still have to pay out of state tuition. Should illegals be entitled to benefits of legal residency?
I am personally helping 3 boys pay for their college tuition right now. One has graduated from U of H with a degree in computer science, one is on track for medical school and the 3rd one hasn't decided yet. They are all fine upstanding citizens and I am proud of them.
I forgot to add, as I remember it, the children of illegals were told, if they graduated from Texas high school and applied for US citizenship, they would get instate tuition. I don’t have a problem with that.
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