ARE THE LAWYERS PETTIFOGGING FOR THE BUFF OON?

ARE THE LAWYERS PETTIFOGGING FOR THE BUFF OON?

On the first day of the Trump impeachment trial, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts uttered the word "pettifogging" to illustrate a point. I am usually quite fascinated when a new word pops up unexpectedly in a book, an article, or in the media. I am not so sure that most people pay a lot of attention to strange new words or vocabulary. Many just ignore an uncommon word and carry on, without pause. I needed to find out what “pettifogging” was all about.

To "pettifog" is, according to the Webster dictionary, "to quibble over insignificant details" or "engage in legal chicanery”. The verb was actually formed from the noun "pettifogger", which was used in the 16th Century to describe those who would argue over minor details in a fee. Webster also notes that the term was often used to describe "lower-status lawyers" who would take on small cases. While a presidential impeachment is not a small case, I thought it did hit the nail on the head by attaching it to “lower-status” lawyers who engage in legal chicanery!

There is actually a book called Foyle’s Philavery: A Treasury of Unusual Words which is an idiosyncratic collection of uncommon and pleasing words. The word "philavery" itself was invented by Christopher Foyle, the chairman of the famous Foyle's Bookshop in London, who described his book as a collection of words chosen simply on the grounds of their aesthetic appeal. Some of the words appeal because of their aptness, some for their obscurity, some for their euphony, and some for their quirkiness.

A few examples from Foyle’s book include:
acrasial –  an adjective that describes something that is – at the same time: excessive, irregular, confused and disordered.
limocolous – an adjective used to describe anything which has mud as its primary component.
novenary – an adjective that describes anything that has a strong connection with or derives from the number nine.
turdiform –  an adjective that describes any creature that has a form that resembles that of a thrush (genus Turdus).

And the best way to learn and acquire new vocabulary is to incorporate the words into a sentence. Thus, “I recently observed a novenary group of turdiform birds randomly flitting acrasially around a limocolous nest.” My faithful readers will now not be surprised when my new vocabulary occasionally pops up in future blogs.

When I was a teacher one of my favourite obscure words was culled from the poem,” The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” The word was “eftsoons” and it translates to once again, soon after or presently. I used to dramatically call out to the class, “Eftsoons, it is time to extract your literature book!” The kids were soon tossing the word about like a paper wad and proclaiming, “Eftsoons, I think it is time for the bell to ring,” or “ Efstoons, may I leave the room please.” A new word can be a lot of fun!

The other rather archaic word that comes to mind when I hear about the impeachment trial is “buffoon”, defined as a ridiculous but amusing person; a clown. I don’t know why it surfaces so quickly in relation to impeachment but it does. Can anyone venture a guess?