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March 2018 Words of the Day Quiz
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Daniels' Lawyer Wants to 'Depose' Trump, Cohen
'to take testimony from especially by deposition'

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April Fools' Day: We Don't Know Its Origin
But be wary on April 1 anyway.

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March 2018 Words of the Day Quiz
Some quizzes need no introduction.

alt-5abba30a81323
Daniels' Lawyer Wants to 'Depose' Trump, Cohen
'to take testimony from especially by deposition'

image1760257654
2017 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes
How we chose 'feminism'

image736458063
What's That Smell?
10 obscure words for bad odors

alt-5abe3c525a4ac
April Fools' Day: We Don't Know Its Origin
But be wary on April 1 anyway.

closeup-of-pulsatilla-grandis-flower
March 2018 Words of the Day Quiz
Some quizzes need no introduction.
alt-5abba30a81323
Daniels' Lawyer Wants to 'Depose' Trump, Cohen
'to take testimony from especially by deposition'

image1760257654
2017 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes
How we chose 'feminism'

image736458063
What's That Smell?
10 obscure words for bad odors

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Trend Watch
Trump: They Wanted Me to 'Excoriate' Putin
Lookups rise over 2800% after tweet
MAR 21, 2018
Lookups for excoriate spiked on March 21, 2018, after President Trump used the word
in a tweet:

Donald J. Trump
?
@realDonaldTrump
I called President Putin of Russia to congratulate him on his election victory (in
past, Obama called him also). The Fake News Media is crazed because they wanted me
to excoriate him. They are wrong! Getting along with Russia (and others) is a good
thing, not a bad thing.......

11:56 AM - Mar 21, 2018

131K
70K people are talking about this
Twitter Ads info and privacy
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Photo: Kremlin.ru
The "criticize harshly" sense of 'excoriate' is a figurative extension of its
earlier use, which related to flaying and abrading skin.

Trump�s call to congratulate Putin was widely criticized even before it was
revealed that he had been briefed with the words �DO NOT CONGRATULATE� beforehand,
renewing attention to the story and introducing the detail that an apparent leak
had come from the White House.

Excoriate means �to criticize (someone or something) very harshly� or �to censure
scathingly,� but this meaning is relatively recent in English compared to the
original use of the word, which was �to strip or wear off the skin of,� a synonym
of flay and abrade. It was often used in reference to agonizing punishment and
comes from a Latin word made up of ex- meaning �out of� or �outside� and corium
meaning �skin� or �hide.�

Its figurative use retains the idea of a harsh and biting criticism derived from
the idea of an act of painful torture.

More Words At Play

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But be wary on April 1 anyway.

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depose
'to take testimony from especially by deposition'

omnibus
'containing or including many items'

acrimony
'anger and bitterness'

excoriate
'to criticize very harshly'

terrorism
'the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion'

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