The Words of the Week - Oct. 20

‘Plead’

Sidney Powell recently changed her plea in a Georgia court case, and as a result lookups for plead spiked. Plead is defined as “to make a plea of a specified nature” (in this case a guilty one). The question most often associated with the word, however, is not so much its meaning as it is the correct way to use it in the past tense. The good news is that there are multiple ways of forming the past tense of plead: pleaded, pled, and plead. While some usage guides of yore have cautioned against using pled, it may be found in both legal and non-legal use.

Sidney Powell, a onetime attorney for former President Donald Trump who helped orchestrate his legal efforts to try to overturn his 2020 election defeat, has pleaded guilty in the sweeping Georgia election interference case.
— Stephen Fowler, NPR, 19 Oct. 2023

Former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell pled guilty in the Georgia election interference case brought forth by Fulton County DA Fani Willis.
— Colby Hall, Mediaite, 19 Oct. 2023

‘Televise’

Televise was another word very much in the news, after NBC asked for an upcoming trial of Donald Trump to be shown on television.

A motion filed by NBCUniversal Media, the owner of outlets like NBC News and MSNBC, made public Wednesday requests that U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan allow the trial to be televised, either by allowing a pool camera shared between media organizations or the use of the court’s cameras.
— Editor and Publisher, 19 Oct. 2023

Televise is, unsurprisingly, defined as “to broadcast (something, such as a baseball game) by television.” The word is a back-formation from the word television (a back-formation is a word formed by taking away an affix from an already existing longer word, such as burgle from burglar). For those who are interested, we can offer considerably more information on back-formations.

‘Gag order’

Gag order had a sharp increase in lookups, an occurrence that often happens when an order of this kind is issued in a highly publicized case.

On Monday, federal judge Tanya Chutkan issued a partial gag order that prevents Trump from going after witnesses, prosecutors, and court personnel who are involved in the federal case examining his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
— Li Zhou, Vox, 17 Oct. 2023

A gag order is “a judicial ruling barring public disclosure or discussion (as by the press) of information related to a case.” The gag portion of this term comes from the Middle English gaggen (meaning “to strangle”), and has been in use since the early 16th century. Gag order itself does not appear in the written record until the middle of the 19th.

The Express states that the Gag-order of the Secretary of War suppresses other letters from Gen. Taylor, which he has written to a military friend and superior, and was, no doubt, intended, to suppress them, because they contain facts and statements unpleasant to the Administration.
— The Recorder (Greenfield, MA), 9 Feb. 1847

‘Pro tem’

Pro tem also spiked in lookups last week, after it appeared far more often than it usually does, a result of ongoing coverage of attempts to elect a new speaker of the House of Representatives.

GOP hard-liner: Republicans ‘might as well be the Whigs’ if they strike deal to empower Speaker pro tem
— (headline) The Hill, 19 Oct. 2023

Pro tem is a shortening of pro tempore, which comes from the Latin, meaning “for the time being,” and carries much the same meaning in English.

‘Fie’ & ‘fiddlesticks’

Fie and fiddlesticks both had a sharp increase in lookups after appearing in the Connections word puzzle in The New York Times.

I try a different category, flummoxed. It looks like there’s a group that has to do with tame curse words: “Fiddlesticks,” “Frick,” “Fudge.” Well what the fudge is the fourth one? … I get the “Mild Oaths” group after looking up the definition of “Fie.”
— Alyssa Mercante, Kotaku, 19 Oct. 2023

Both words are interjections: fie is used to express disgust or disapproval, whereas fiddlesticks indicates that the speaker thinks something is nonsense. Fiddlesticks has additional uses, including as a noun meaning “a violin bow” or “something of little value.” The shorter interjection was a favorite of William Shakespeare, who employed it well over a hundred times in his plays.

Fie, thou dishonest Satan!
— William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

Fie, fie! you counterfeit, you puppet, you!
— William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

O, fie, fie, fie! Thy sin's not accidental, but a trade.
— William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure

I must be round with him, now he comes from hunting. Fie, fie, fie, fie!
— William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens

Words Worth Knowing: ‘bellycheer’

Our word worth knowing this week is bellycheer defined as “gratification of the belly.” While this word is archaic, and little used today, we hope it is useful for you this weekend.