A Word With You
July 19th, 2010
pre·var·i·cate
prɪˈvær ɪˌkeɪt [pri-var-i-keyt]
–verb (used without object), -cat·ed, -cat·ing.
to speak falsely or misleadingly; deliberately misstate or create an incorrect impression; lie.
Origin:
1575–85; < L praevāricātus, ptp. of praevāricārī to straddle something, (of an advocate) collude with an opponent’s advocate, equiv. to prae- pre- + vāricāre to straddle, deriv. of vārus bent outwards, bow-legged
The funny thing is that I was intending to do procrastinate today since that’s what I’ve been doing a lot of lately. Somehow, unbeknownst to me, prevaricate came out instead so I’m going with it.
The thing I find most interesting about this word is its origin. Prevarication has a pretty straightforward definition: you lie! To prevaricate is to deliberately misstate. Don’t you love that? So, if you didn’t actually intend to lie you’re not prevaricating. In any case, back to the origin. To bend backwards or straddle an issue, especially that of an opponent’s advocate, in other words to side with an opponents fan. Which really doesn’t make much sense in and of itself, but also has little to do with the word itself! Okay, so I didn’t have a hand in the dictionary-creation process, but still… Anyway, isn’t it much cooler—and meaner to call someone a prevaricator than just “liar, liar, pants on fire”? Or maybe that’s just me.
Grammar Punk Sentence: T E 4
Stevie has always been adamant about never telling a lie but she is the first to admit to prevaricating on occasion—don’t get me started.
You give it a try. Write a sentence that contains at least 4 words that contain the letters T and E and the word prevaricate or one of its variations.
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