slanderizing
Benjamin Zimmer
bgzimmer at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU
Fri Jun 1 16:33:18 UTC 2007
On 6/1/07, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> An attorney on Court TV has just said, "but then they're put in the position of
> slanderizing someone."
>
> Not "slenderize."
Formed on analogy with "scandalize", perhaps? A quick check on Google
Book Search suggests an American pedigree that includes James Fenimore
Cooper and Joel Chandler Harris.
--Ben Zimmer
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