This post is a first one of what I imagine will be a long string of posts born from my passionate love affair with the English language. I am a collector, a savourer, an ESL nerd, whatever you like to call me. I am always expanding my English vocabulary, which is like the ocean - inexhaustible.
The latest treat comes right out of the US midterm elections media extravaganza.
While President Obama chose "shellacking" to describe the recent Democratic defeat in the House of Congress, former President George W. Bush is often quoted these days referring to the 2006 Republican loss of seats as a "thumpin'". Political analysts and news people are also using the term "drubbing" a lot.
Political issues aside (this blog will not get partisan), I celebrate the creative use of the English language in the American public discourse. For us, non-native speakers/copycats, it's invaluable. One thing is to come across a word like that in a book, first try to extract its meaning from the context, and then, still not quite getting a good grasp of it, look it up online (or in an actual paper dictionary), but quite another is to hear it directed at and understood by such a large pool of people. No longer am I limited to "beating" and "thrashing". Three fresh synonyms is one swat. Just watch me use them now!
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