travesty

[Jonathan Lighter]

Am not sure that the refugees are victims of a "miscarriage" in the normal
sense, unless violent chaos is considered a "miscarriage."

I suppose that could be argued by metaphysicians, but it would be so subtle
an argument that CNN's use of the word "travesty" almost certainly had
anything to do with it.

Note too the 2010 posts.

JL

On Wed, Jan 16, 2013 at 2:45 AM, Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at ix.netcom.com>wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM>
> Subject:      Re: travesty
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> After Googling this, I realized that of course I do hear this term. But
> I've always assumed it means something like tragic miscarriage, and it
> seems likely that that's the meaning it will carry going forward.
>
> Benjamin Barrett
> Seattle, WA
>
> On Jan 15, 2013, at 2:39 PM, Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at ix.netcom.com>
> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > Outside of "travesty of justice," I don't think I'm familiar with this
> term and always assumed it meant something like a tragic miscarriage. It's
> not in the pile of words that I actually use, though, so perhaps people are
> just using it around me and I don't notice.
> >
> > Benjamin Barrett
> > Seattle, WA
> >
> > On Jan 15, 2013, at 10:44 AM, David A. Daniel <dad at POKERWIZ.COM> wrote:
> >
> >> Just as a matter of interest, travesti (spelled with an i on the end, I
> >> suppose because Portuguese didn't have a y until recently) means a
> female
> >> impersonator in Brazilian Portuguese. In English I have always and only
> used
> >> travesty with the dictionary meaning. Or am I missing something?
> >> DAD
> >>
> >> Poster:       Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM>
> >> Subject:      Re: travesty
> >>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >> ---
> >>
> >> On Jan 15, 2013, at 9:32 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >>> I mentioned this in 2010. It means "an outrageous occurrence or
> >> situation."
> >>> Like a tragedy but different.
> >>>
> >>> CNN characterizes the plight of Syrian refugees forced over the border
> >> into
> >>> Turkey as simply "a travesty."
> >>
> >> I wouldn't have known the dictionary meaning if I hadn't seen this
> e-mail
> >> and looked it up. No idea it was supposed to be different from a
> tragedy. (I
> >> wouldn't want to try to use it with the dictionary meaning, either....)
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org