THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- September 28, 2016- Topic 2
The first of three U.S.
presidential debates lived up to the hype as the world was treated to the sight
of an experienced politician, and first-ever woman nominee for the White House,
take on a brash and surprisingly popular property tycoon. While most media
analysts seemed to hand victory in the debate to Democrat and former Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton, numerous online polls, most of them based on
anonymous voting and non-scientific response targeting, appeared to suggest
that it was her Republican rival Donald Trump who won. To an extent, the terms
of the debate, set by moderator and NBC News anchor Lester Holt, ended up
favouring Ms. Clinton. Mr. Holt tipped the scales towards Ms. Clinton when he
brought up Mr. Trump’s refusal to reveal his tax returns, the “birther”
controversy over Barack Obama’s place of birth, Mr. Trump’s alleged support for
the Iraq War, and his comment on Ms. Clinton’s “look”. Yet, what featured
significantly less was Ms. Clinton’s use of a private email server, her
responses to the controversy over the 2012 Benghazi attack, and broader
criticism of the Clinton charitable foundation and her proximity to Wall
Street, issues that would have put her on the back foot. As it turned out, she
emerged from the brawl with poise and a lawyer-like command over the tempo of
the debate as she held out several baits for Mr. Trump, which he took.
Ms. Clinton forensically
focussed on Mr. Trump’s weaknesses, including his preference for tax cuts for
big businesses over income support for the middle class, his past business and
personal dealings that hinted at racist values, and the destabilisation
potential of his foreign policy proposals on NATO, Iran, North Korea, China and
Mexico. The deeper question that the Clinton-Trump clash continues to pose,
however, is: How has a candidate such as Mr. Trump come this far? Why has his
habit of offending politically significant minorities, including Mexicans,
African-Americans, Muslims, the LGBT community, the differently abled and
women, not dented his popularity? In part, it comes down to sheer showmanship,
and Ms. Clinton, for all her measured responses and detailed elucidation of
policy prescriptions, falls far behind Mr. Trump on that count. However, the more
worrisome force behind the rise and rise of Mr. Trump is that his candidature
hints at continuing nationwide disenchantment over political dysfunction in
Washington. That Americans may be willing to risk it all and throw a
metaphorical grenade at the federal government to shake things up after years
of partisan bickering and policy logjams suggests that their leaders must work
to heal a bitterly polarised electorate and temper this distaste for the
federal governance architecture.
Vocabulary
Hype: extravagant or intensive publicity or promotion.
Example: She relied on hype and headlines to stoke up interest in her music
Synonyms: publicity, advertising, promotion, marketing, exposure, self-promotion
Brash: self-assertive in a rude, noisy, or overbearing way.
Example: He could be brash, cocky, and arrogant
Tycoon: a wealthy, powerful person in business or industry.
Example: A newspaper tycoon
Synonyms: magnate, mogul, industrialist, businessman, financier, entrepreneur
Anonymous: (of a person) not identified by name; of unknown name.
Example: The anonymous author of Beowulf
Synonyms: unnamed, of unknown name, nameless, incognito, unidentified
Refusal: raise doubts or objections or show reluctance.
Example: Normally she would have accepted the challenge, but she demurred
Synonyms: object, take exception, take issue, protest, cavil, dissent
Birther: a person who doubts the legitimacy of Barack Obama's presidency because of
a conspiracy theory that Obama is not a natural-born US citizen.
Example: This all goes back to that birthers conspiracy about the Hawaiian born Mr.
Obama
Proximity: nearness in space, time, or relationship.
Example: Do not operate microphones in close proximity to television sets
Synonyms: closeness, nearness, propinquity, accessibility, handiness, vicinity
Brawl: a rough or noisy fight or quarrel.
Example: As a nurse, she had seen victims of bar fights and street brawls , but
these wounds were some of the worst she had seen.
Synonyms: fight, skirmish, scuffle, tussle, fray, melee, free-for-all, donnybrook
Poise: graceful and elegant bearing in a person.
Example: Poise and good deportment can be cultivated
Synonyms: grace, gracefulness, elegance, balance, control
Showmanship: a spectacle or display of something, typically an impressive one.
Example: Spectacular shows of bluebells
Synonyms: display, array, exhibition, presentation, exposition, spectacle
Elucidation: explanation that makes something clear; clarification.
Example: Work that led to the elucidation of the structure of proteins
Synonyms: explanation, clarification, illumination, interpretation, explication, gloss
Worrisome: causing anxiety or concern.
Example: A worrisome problem
Synonyms: alarming, worrying, daunting, perturbing, niggling, nagging, bothersome
Disenchantment: a feeling of disappointment about someone or something you previously
respected or admired; disillusionment.
Example: Growing disenchantment with the leadership
Synonyms: disillusionment, disappointment, dissatisfaction, discontent
Metaphorical: characteristic of or relating to metaphor; figurative.
Example: Many of our metaphorical expressions develop from our perceptions of the
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