2008 Nitpicking Obama’s Vocab
posted by on November 9 at 17:39 PM
OK, I’m pissed the Bears lost a game they could have won, and I’ve had a … few beers. But reading the blogs and checking out Obama’s speeches usually sobers and cheers me up.
But this has to stop. Obama his committing an offense against the English language, one that is commonly made, but should be avoided because it gives solace to the enemy (ie, the Right). In both his Grant Park speech Tuesday night and yesterday in his first radio address, he has twice fucked up one key word.
He uses the word “enormity” to mean “really big and challenging” instead of what it actually means, which is
1. The quality of passing all moral bounds; excessive wickedness or outrageousness.
2. A monstrous offense or evil; an outrage.
In Grant Park he said
I know you didn’t [donate to my campaign] just to win an election and I know you didn’t do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead.
He said in the first radio address
Let me close by saying I do not underestimate the enormity of the task that lies ahead.
Now, I’m not a prescriptivist (that is, I don’t think that dictionaries can or should prescribe what works mean or how people use them, dictionaries should just describe how people use the language) but this one I must fight on. Mis-using this word to include its latest drift towards “immense” just gives the Enemy (the Right) ammunition: Obama is admitting that his plan is a monstrous offense or evil.
So, I just wanted to commentate that irregardless of other lexical concerns, this must stop. Knock it off. The enormity of it all …
That's not what my dictionary says:
enormity |iˈnôrmitē|
noun ( pl. -ties)
1 ( the enormity of) the great or extreme scale, seriousness, or extent of something perceived as bad or morally wrong : a thorough search disclosed the full enormity of the crime.
• (in neutral use) the large size or scale of something : the enormity of his intellect. See usage below.
2 a grave crime or sin : the enormities of the Hitler regime.
ORIGIN late Middle English : via Old French from Latin enormitas, from enormis, from e- (variant of ex-) ‘out of’ + norma ‘pattern, standard.’ The word originally meant [deviation from legal or moral rectitude] and [transgression.] Current senses have been influenced by enormous .
USAGE This word is imprecisely used to mean 'great size,' as in it is difficult to comprehend the enormity of the continent, but the original and preferred meaning is 'extreme wickedness,' as in | the enormity of the mass murders. To indicate enormous size, the words enormousness, immensity, vastness, hugeness, etc., are preferable.
e⋅nor⋅mi⋅ty
/ɪˈnɔrmɪti/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [i-nawr-mi-tee] Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun, plural -ties
1. outrageous or heinous character; atrociousness: the enormity of war crimes.
2. something outrageous or heinous, as an offense: The bombing of the defenseless population was an enormity beyond belief.
3. greatness of size, scope, extent, or influence; immensity: The enormity of such an act of generosity is staggering.
I think you just didn't read down far enough. Actually, immensity and enormity are well-known synonyms. Maybe cut down on the beer drinking next time you want to comment on vocabulary.
A portion of the OED:
3. Excess in magnitude; hugeness, vastness. Obs.; recent examples might perh. be found, but the use is now regarded as incorrect.
1792 Munchhausen's Trav. xxii. 93 A worm of proportionable enormity had bored a hole in the shell.
1802 HOWARD in Phil. Trans. XCII. 204 Notwithstanding the enormity of its bulk.
1830 Fraser's Mag. I. 752 Of the properties of the Peak of Teneriffe accounts are extant which describe its enormity.
1846 DE QUINCEY Syst. Heavens Wks. III. 183 The whitish gleam was the mask conferred by the enormity of their remotion. [Mod. ‘“You have no idea of the enormity of my business transactions”, said an eminent Stock Exchange speculator to a friend. He was perhaps nearer the truth than he intended’.]
b. concr. Something enormous. (humorous.)
1825 HONE Every-day Bk. I. 436 This waxen enormity [an enormous taper] was lighted.
The sense that President-elect Obama is using is a long-established one, evidenced by *all* dictionaries (see Merriam-Webster quote below). Some characterize it as an obsolete sense, but note Merriam-Webster's excellent usage comment below and the modern authors who have used it in that sense (Steinbeck, Theroux, Steiner, etc.). If anything, Obama's use of this sense reflects on his erudition and command of nuance.
Merriam-Webster:
enor·mi·ty
Date: 15th century
3: the quality or state of being huge : immensity
4: a quality of momentous importance or impact
USAGE
Enormity, some people insist, is improperly used to denote large size. They insist on enormousness for this meaning, and would limit enormity to the meaning “great wickedness.” Those who urge such a limitation may not recognize the subtlety with which enormity is actually used. It regularly denotes a considerable departure from the expected or normal . When used to denote large size, either literal or figurative, it usually suggests something so large as to seem overwhelming and may even be used to suggest both great size and deviation from morality . It can also emphasize the momentousness of what has happened or of its consequences .
And from the OED we have these old citations of its use demonstrating that this sense is well-established:
1792 Munchhausen's Trav. xxii. 93 A worm of proportionable enormity had bored a hole in the shell. 1802 HOWARD in Phil. Trans. XCII. 204 Notwithstanding the enormity of its bulk. 1830 Fraser's Mag. I. 752 Of the properties of the Peak of Teneriffe accounts are extant which describe its enormity. 1846 DE QUINCEY Syst. Heavens Wks. III. 183 The whitish gleam was the mask conferred by the enormity of their remotion. [Mod. ‘“You have no idea of the enormity of my business transactions”, said an eminent Stock Exchange speculator to a friend. He was perhaps nearer the truth than he intended’.]
I just don't like that you used "irregardless" in a post about grammar/vocab.
Really? Really.
I would think that the sorry state of this country could certainly be seen as "A monstrous offense or evil; an outrage." I certainly view Bush that way.
Fail
@5 yet you miss commenting on "commentate"? think maybe i did that on purpose, for larfs? i love back formations.
pardon, me, Laughs.
@ all y'all: love online dictionaries. still think that "enormity" has a primary meaning, which is NOT big
@6 Bush has committed several enormities, but Obama's task is the opposite.
How about:
"Let me close by saying I do not underestimate the monstrous offense or evil; the outrage of the task that lies ahead."
Kinda works. Kinda?
first - he uses the word correctly - you are mistaken.
second - there are so many important things we need to be focusing on.
third - did you go through all of the nonwords GWB used? i mean the man made up words, couldn't pronounce real words correctly, etc.
fourth - as stated in my second point, even with the third point, there were so many other pressing matter than GWB's inability to articulate in the English language.
fifth - please find something truly newsworthy to blog about.
thank you.
i meant pressing matters in point #4.
...and when one is going out of one's way to be a 'original usage strict constructionist' wet (beer-soaked?) blanket, it might behoove the author to take a few moments to spell-check and proofread your text before posting.
If this sorry post played quarterback its name would be "Rex Grossman".
@8
CF:
Words simply have more than one meaning. If we all go through life avoiding the meanings that are not listed first in the dictionary, then we deplete the richness of the English language that would otherwise be available to us. The fact is that Obama's use of "enormity" is not by any means or standard wrong. You've simply backed yourself into a semantic corner with escape. It's best to concede, learn, and move on now. :-)
@8
CF:
Words simply have more than one meaning. If we all go through life avoiding the meanings that are not listed first in the dictionary, then we deplete the richness of the English language that would otherwise be available to us. The fact is that Obama's use of "enormity" is not by any means or standard wrong. You've simply backed yourself into a semantic corner without escape. It's best to concede, learn, and move on now. :-)
Irregardless? Tell me that was meant to be ironic.
Shut the fuck up. This is literally the dumbest thing I've read on SLOG in a very long time - maybe since the primary and some of a certain writer's posts. He's using the word correctly and you're unable to admit you were wrong. Irregardless (yes, used intentionally), the man is a fucking genius orator and the idea that some random guy on SLOG is calling him out for something this ridiculous is really fucking annoying.
If we're going to pick nits, "irregardless" is not a word.
sheesh, you noticed "irregardless" was paired with that other worthless inflation "commentate", right?
i agree with chicago. we already have "immensity"; keep expressiveness alive!
Simac wins the thread, and Chicago Fan loses for clinging pitiably to "primary meaning".
He should have said "giganticity."
also, check your own post for grammar and typos
And anyway, yay for having a president who can say "NUCLEAR."
by your (admittedly drunk) logic, all words should be held to their strict, old english meaning. so if i say we have a black president i'm actually saying we have an evil prez. this is stupid. please make a note of it, along with the fact that 'irregardless' is a word invented on the ricky lake show.
Excuse me, that's RICKI Lake. Please check youre own posts for typoes, mispelings, ect.
If he sounds like a prescriptivist, and writes like a prescriptivist, he probably is one. "Enormity" has included the meaning of "immensity" for a really, really long time now, and is such a bizarre thing to nitpick on. Did something happen in your youth perhaps, that makes it so that this bothers you so? I suppose everyone has one; I hate the phrase "from whence."
The task at hand is big, and ti is evil that it exists ....so it's a fucking double entendre which you fucking missed fucking censorious dict-wad.*
*Neologism, coined Seattle, WA, 2008: a person who is a dick about diction.
(Dist. "Tricky Dict-wad").
Ha ha! Irregardless..that's ironical.
I think the "enormity" of your ass is the problem here.
Some coalition...you nitpickers will fall apart based on tertiary dictionary meanings.
If you're going to nit-pick vocabulary, you can't use "irregardless." Your objection overruled on a technicality.
@31: Your comment overruled on the basis of your not having read all thirty comments before yours, many of which revealed the, like, totally ironical nature of CF's use of "irregardless." What are you, new?
Obama has to overcome eight years of Bush mangling words.
The fact that "enormity" has several meanings and therefore can be used in a nuanced fashion is going to be lost on a lot of folk who aren't as erudite as this group of Sloggers apparently is (please note: FUCK wasn't used once in the original post -- it can be done!).
I am reminded of that diplomat several years back who got in a load of trouble for using the word "niggardly".
It would be funnier if Obama had used "ginormity" instead.
NERDDDDDDDSSSS!!!!!
Language mutates and evolves. If it didn't we'd still be grunting. A hundred years from now, this sentence will read like Shakespeare (except no one will read it.)
David Foster Wallace had a great essay in one of his books about two camps of dictionary folks -- there are the folks who see language as an established, non-changing entity and those who allow for change. It's a great read and an excellent tonic for language snobs.
At the very least, Google search before your next screed. Search "define: enormity". It takes 3.2 seconds and would have saved you a pointless rant and the giant embarrassing spankin' from those who actually know how to use a dictionary, which by the way, is completely hilarious.
What is your problem? Prescriptivism is GREAT.
This post LITERALLY makes my head turn slightly to one side, then the other, then back again.
As Simac (#4) has covered the usage note I would have referred to, I'll only make the point that this reminds me of a story I once heard about JFK's use of the word "fulsome" to mean "abundant" or the state of being full of something, as opposed to its more common definition of being vulgar, vile, or offensive. To the other, Kennedy's definition is now the first listed at Merriam-Webster.com.