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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMinority Leader Schumer Called It "Perfidy."
Now, there's a word that isn't part of the active vocabulary for most people. Schumer used the word to describe the action of the Republican-controlled Senate in refusing to hear witnesses in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump.
The most common synonym of "perfidy" is "disloyalty." What the GOP Senators were disloyal to was the spirit of the Constitution.
The word also has a meaning in warfare. There, it means using a false flag or promise of peace to lower an enemy's guard. For example, putting up a white flag of surrender and then attacking the other side when its representatives come to accept that surrender. Or "perfidy" could be using a red cross flag to penetrate enemy lines in order to strike the enemy from its rear.
We are at war in this country. It is a civil war where no shots are being fired, at least currently. The Republicans, led by Donald Trump, committed perfidy by promising a fair trial of the President, while knowingly plotting to excuse his unconstitutional behavior and acquit him, regardless of the evidence. In refusing to even hear evidence, the Senate Republicans compounded their perfidy.
Chuck Schumer used the right word. He fully understands both of its meanings. Sadly, what he said went right over the heads of even the media. On CBS News yesterday afternoon, one of the anchors simply didn't know what the word "perfidy" meant and said so openly. Once again, the education of those who are supposed to be educating the public through news reporting was lacking.
spanone
(135,831 posts)while probably scrambling to look it up....our lazy media
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)Mocking people who use words the mocker doesn't understand is an old, old practice. Rather that consult a dictionary to make up for their own poor education, such people make fun of the use of a word by a well-educated person. It's a compensatory thing to do.
I first heard that word when I was about 12 years old. I looked it up as soon as I had access to a dictionary. Today, definitions of words we don't know are available instantly. There is no excuse for not understanding what someone has said.
NewJeffCT
(56,828 posts)Republicans are so much better at messaging because they use strong memorable words while too many Democrats use reserved legalese.
"No witnesses, no documents in an impeachment trial is a perfidy. It is a grand tragedy."
Versus
"Republicans destroyed the Rule of Law by blocking witnesses to testify."
"Republicans shredded the Constitution by blocking witness testimony and evidence"
"Republicans crushed the Constitution and wrecked the Rule of Law by blocking witnesses and evidence"
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)any of your other substitute statements. More people will remember his statement because he used an unfamiliar word.
What Chuck Schumer revealed was a keen mind and a sense of history. His statement will be quoted for a long time to come.
crickets
(25,979 posts)The moment Claire McCaskill complained that Schumer used that specific word, I looked it up to make sure I knew what perfidy meant. Turns out I had the general idea, but had missed the nuance of the definition. Now I am unlikely to ever forget what it means and will likely think of January 31, 2020 every time I hear it.
Chuck Schumer knew exactly what he wanted to say and what he was doing when he said it.
He picked the right word.
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)Ferrets are Cool
(21,106 posts)such as this one, I am a happy man. Anyone who chooses otherwise has a stagnant mindset.
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)Pepsidog
(6,254 posts)treestar
(82,383 posts)But the ignorance in this country makes "perfidy" useless. Disloyalty to the rule of law might have been better.
Backseat Driver
(4,392 posts)to look up in the dictionary: a "quid pro quo" word, LOL: p-r-o-s-t-i-t-u-t-e!
Ilsa
(61,695 posts)Not if you are referring to the discussion between McCaskell, Williams, and Wallace. She prefers simpler, Truman-esque language, but "perfidy" is the perfect word for it. I didn't get the feeling that they were mocking Schumer, just that they were surprised that they needed to explain his comment any more than they explain everyone else's comnents.
Buckeyeblue
(5,499 posts)And while Perfidy is sza great word choice, it's probably not the best word to use for a sound bite.
He should have used the word cover up. He should have said that the Republicans are afraid of the truth.
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)Chuck Schumer used a word that is in his active vocabulary. Many people understood it. Others can look it up and improve their own vocabularies. I'm not a fan of dumbing things down to the lowest common denominator.
Perfidy does not mean "cover up." It means what Schumer was trying to convey, concisely and accurately.
Buckeyeblue
(5,499 posts)You have just a few seconds to grab people's attention. So you need to make it count.
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)That is regrettable.
Captain Zero
(6,805 posts)Trump is the hoax. The republican party is whitewashing his crimes against the country. They all need to be voted out.
wishstar
(5,269 posts)I confess I had to look up perfidy even though I have an Ivy League education (during which I hated my one and only law class!)
Takket
(21,566 posts)I literally googled it and knew the meaning five seconds later. Is that so difficult for the media?
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)That's how we learn new words and add them to our own vocabularies.
My wife didn't know the word, either, and asked me what it meant. I know the word, so I told her what it meant. She knows words I don't know. We learn from each other.
NewJeffCT
(56,828 posts)it was a bad word choice. Perfidy is not a strong word
dictionary.com says these words are "related" to perfidy and almost ALL of them would be far better choices to use in terms of a media sound bite
fake, infidelity, whitewash, scam, falseness, duplicity, sellout, dodge, treason, betrayal, flimflam, perfidiousness, gyp, spoof, disaffection, put-on, racket, corruption, double-dealing, bunco
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)We would not be having this conversation had he used one of those related words. What he said was memorable and worthy of discussion. It will be remembered because he used le mot juste.
MontanaMama
(23,314 posts)I was at a stoplight and had to tell Siri to do it but she couldnt. Had to wait until I was in the drive through at the bank to do it myself. Chuck soft pedals things more than Id like in general but I thought his short speech yesterday, including that word were perfect.
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)PCIntern
(25,544 posts)In a James Bond Book. Cant rexall which but Bond says to himself Perfidious Albion.
I have a weird memory
eppur_se_muova
(36,262 posts)MineralMan
(146,308 posts)At one time, our federal legislators had keen senses of history. These days, that's not so common. Chuck Schumer, however, is one of our legislators who is grounded in history. Bravo!
malaise
(268,997 posts)Thanks
PCIntern
(25,544 posts)MineralMan
(146,308 posts)It was probably in a book. However, it could also have been something I heard someone say. I do remember looking it up, though, because that's what I always did when a new word popped up. I still do, although words that are new to me these days are usually technical in nature.
Since I have made my living as a writer, I always consider who my audience is, and adjust my vocabulary to suit that audience. If I need to introduce a word that is unlikely to be known by some of that audience, I follow its use with a brief definition or a synonym. I'm not a novelist or writer of fiction of any kind. My role as a writer is always to educate my readers. Most of the time, I'm writing about some sort of technical subject, so learning terminology is always part of what I'm writing.
The important trick is understanding what the audience already knows, and then telling them about something they don't know.
Ferrets are Cool
(21,106 posts)That would have really got their knickers in a knot.
eppur_se_muova
(36,262 posts)... suggesting college-bound seniors were half-expected to be familiar with it.
It's OK to use $25 words when talking to the public, just don't overdo it.
And I tend to agree with the 'false friendly flag' interpretation.
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)to history far more than they are now, they would have encountered the word, as I did. Today, probably not.
Senator Schumer used the word because he knows that his public statements are more than just sound bites. He used the word "perfidy" with full reference to the treachery of others throughout history. His statement was a sound bite, but one worth remembering, because of that. Sometimes, a bit of erudition is worthwhile, especially if your words are likely to be remembered.
dalton99a
(81,486 posts)MineralMan
(146,308 posts)Where did you find those? I love it!
burrowowl
(17,641 posts)zanana1
(6,113 posts)I just learned a new word. Thanks, Chuck!
stillcool
(32,626 posts)about something...make fun of it. On cable, you never can tell if they're ignorant, or spinning. At of all that happened yesterday, the word perfidy is an issue. And, some believe because it has been made an issue, it was the wrong choice of words. It's what cable does.. over and over...from Al Gore's lockbox, to the Dean Scream, to Reverend Wright...tale an incident and use it as a tool to take someone down. No wonder they don't like the word.
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)That means it was more than a sound bite. Had he used a different word, we would not be discussing what he said this morning.
In order to discuss what he said, for whatever reason, the word gets defined, and is better understood. It didn't get thrown away as a mere soundbite.
We remember what people say because we think about what they said.
In this thread, links to historical references have appeared, along with definitions and further explorations of the word and what it means. For me, that means that people are learning and understanding more than they would have if he had said "cover-up" instead of "perfidy."
It was a very effective word choice. People have learned from it.
live love laugh
(13,109 posts)Two new words added to my vocabulary that I wish I did not know.
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)Nope. Not a single one. I hope to keep adding new words to my vocabulary until I'm dead.
Ferrets are Cool
(21,106 posts)My sister mocks me incessantly about using big words. I just chuckle at her and say "Sorry, it's the first one that came to mind".
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)When she's stuck, she asks me for help. One day, while doing some puzzle or another, she asked, "What's a nine letter word for 'flightless bird?"
"Cassowary," I said, almost instantly.
"I hate you," she joked. "How did you know that?"
I explained that there are only a few flightless birds. I know their names. The only one that is as long as 9 letters is Cassowary.
Ostrich
Emu
Kiwi
Cassowary
I learned about flightless birds in a book on animals when I was about 10. The idea of a flightless bird was funny to me, so I remembered the ones described in that book.
Ferrets are Cool
(21,106 posts)live love laugh
(13,109 posts)from the coverup court is my issue. IOW if there wasnt a cover up I would more than likely never have known them.
Roy Rolling
(6,917 posts)It is the perfect word to describe what happened. And continually happens. The Republicans suck everyone into a situation promising fairness, but then ambush Democrats with hidden traps.
Its the legend of the Trojan Horse all over. That was perfidy, and important enough of a concept to memorialize it.
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)MineralMan
(146,308 posts)Thank you, Senator Schumer!
https://twitter.com/search?q=%23perfidy
magicarpet
(14,150 posts)Some people hate words because the word is brand new to their vocabulary, irregardless of how appropriate and especially how memorable that new word may be to the standard and common lexicon. Some people just hate new stuff ~~~ like ~~~ new knowledge~~~or enhancing their vocabularies with new words. Intelligence and thinking are both hard work, and to some it is questionable whether the extra effort is really worth it.
The great and exalted leader of North Korea served one up on a silver platter to His Highness of Orange not too long ago. That word will never fade from the pages of history because many had to run to their Merriam-Webster Dictionaries to to decipher the meaning.
D-O-T-A-R-D.
Oh boy did that new word/hammer hit the nail right on the head and drove the nail home.
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)I remember the discussion that happened here when that word was used. Now, everyone associates it with Trump. Kim Jong Un could have called Trump a "bumbling old fool," but he had a better word available. Now, I don't know if he pulled that out of his own brain, but it was perfect.
Now that I am in my dotage, I hope never to become a dotard.
malaise
(268,997 posts)Love it
malaise
(268,997 posts)Last edited Sat Feb 1, 2020, 09:16 PM - Edit history (1)
Others can expand
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)malaise
(268,997 posts)The original Perfidia
Xavier Cugat - "Perfidia"
Nat King Cole
The Jamaican version
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)Wonderful! There are many, many versions of that song. I posted another video downthread, with Linda Ronstadt singing it. A very poignant, sad love song.
I almost posted that one - a true classic that made me understand that perfidy was serious business.
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)I was so sad to hear that Linda Ronstadt's parkinson's ended her singing career.
NBachers
(17,108 posts)malaise
(268,997 posts)many times. I was a genuine Phyllis fan.
Post yours anyway
timms139
(115 posts)The whole Republican base are still trying to find someone to look it up and tell them what the word means.
bluedye33139
(1,474 posts)MineralMan
(146,308 posts)malaise
(268,997 posts)but I sure knew the word via that classic tune and its many covers.
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)It's a great way to understand the word.
burrowowl
(17,641 posts)sandensea
(21,635 posts)MineralMan
(146,308 posts)I didn't know that Nat King Cole sang in Spanish. Thanks!
sandensea
(21,635 posts)Lindsey's song is in there too, come to think of it.
kiss ass, kiss ass, kiss ass...
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)sandensea
(21,635 posts)Here's hoping she can sing at the next inaugural - which of course could only mean a Democrat would be the one being inaugurated.
murielm99
(30,740 posts)due to her Parkinson's disease.
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)sandensea
(21,635 posts)God bless her.
SammyWinstonJack
(44,130 posts)nevergiveup
(4,760 posts)"fuckery", but that is just me.
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)No.
mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)It's time to get pissed, and to sound pissed, and to use words that the American People recognize as words you use ... when, you're ... ya know ... fucking pissed.
Just MHO.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,692 posts)It was used in revolutionary France to decry how England had been supportive of the revolution until it discovered France would no longer be a monarchy. "Perfidious Albion" (an old name for England) has been used ever since to criticize the political treachery of the British empire, and by analogy to any political faithlessness. In that context it was the perfect word.
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,692 posts)which is why Schumer's use of it was perfect. I don't understand why the talking heads on TV weren't familiar with it; it isn't that obscure. Any college graduate who ever took a history course would have heard of "perfidious Albion."
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)aren't what they used to be. Still, sleeping through history lectures was common, even in my ancient day. I never overestimate what TV news folks now any more. That's especially true of the people who run their own shows on TV. They are personalities first and journalists second, I think, for the most part.
I didn't encounter that word in any of my history classes. Rather, I encountered it in other reading on my own. Curiosity is the best teacher, I think. Being a voracious reader is another excellent teacher.
rickyhall
(4,889 posts)MineralMan
(146,308 posts)BumRushDaShow
(128,979 posts)I had heard the word used before and sortof equated it's use as an attempt to invoke the level outrage needed for this circumstance, not unlike someone using the word "craven" in a similar fashion (often used to describe certain evil behaviors or acts).
JDC
(10,127 posts)I really like Chuck Schumer, but he will not be remembered as an impact player for this point in history. Sorry, that is just a fact.
We all forgot he was even there except for this. This is his headline to date in the Trump Impeachment.
This is his "trending" moment.
#perfidy
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)unfortunately. He's been doing his best, but a Senate Majority is almost impossible to get past.
I think he made his point well. May he be the Majority Leader in 2021.
northoftheborder
(7,572 posts)I used it recently in a word game and no one knew what it meant; all were college educated people. I love those seldom used but perfectly fitting unusual words!!!
(I'm a compulsive Scrabble player!
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)We have so minimized the general humanities requirements for most college majors and the history and civics requirements in our high schools that an education that covers history well is almost unheard of today.
More's the pity.
Hermit-The-Prog
(33,345 posts)Our educational system swings through the same arc as our political system, just at longer, slower intervals. The fad of having computer "labs" in many schools is an example. Such labs were ostensibly to teach children how to use computers, but, in fact, were mostly used to train them in the use of a few Microsoft products contemporarily used in business. Hopefully the smart phone has eliminated that particular drain on teacher time.
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)Perhaps, eventually, it will come back around to recognizing the value of a strong general education in the humanities to supplement the more specific learning needed in various specialties.
Perhaps, but I'm not holding my breath.
Grasswire2
(13,569 posts)...and very recently as well here.
Claire McCaskill showed some ignorance mocking Schumer for the word.
It's been part of my vocabulary since George W./Cheney/Rumsfeld et al.
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)Botany
(70,504 posts)I think he did something that was clearly inappropriate, Mr. Alexander said. I think it is inappropriate for the president to ask the leader of a foreign nation to investigate a leading political rival, which the president says he did. I think it is inappropriate at least in part to withhold aid to encourage that investigation.
But that is not treason, that is not bribery, that is not a high crime and misdemeanor, he added, listing the criteria enumerated in the Constitution for impeachable offenses.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/31/us/politics/alexander-impeachment-witnesses.html
So selling out your country, asking for a bribe, and then lying to cover it up isn't a high crime or misdemeanor?
Mersky
(4,981 posts)To not allow a witness, a document - no witnesses, no documents in an impeachment trial is a perfidy.
___
When Schumer said that by the escalator bank after the votes to table the Democrats amendments, I sat up a little straighter. Had to scan through my internal dictionary, as I processed it as a righteous shaming for what had just occurred. Dems gave them a second, third, fourth, and fifth chance to do the right thing with those amendments, but the obstinate republicans nonetheless signed their collective names as accomplices to the pResidents coverup.
I do wish AP had included the word, perfidy, in their captioning of his comments. I am miffed over CSPAN not being at the stakeout post after those awful votes.
Hekate
(90,683 posts)Thank you, for opening my mind to a whole new way of looking at it. "Perfidy" exactly describes what the GOP just did.
Oh, and I heard Ari Melber (I think it was) complaining about a $25 word...
At least later in the evening some others just flatly said this "is a day that will live in infamy."