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<p><strong><font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 21, 2012 is:</font></strong></p> <p> <strong>tub-thumper</strong> • \TUB-thump-er\ • <em>noun</em><br /> : a vociferous supporter (as of a cause) <br /> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> Aunt Lucille was a <em>tub-thumper</em> for temperance who never passed up an opportunity to sermonize fervently on the evils of "demon drink" and the virtues of abstinence.<br /><br />"As some of you are aware, I've been a frequent <em>tub thumper</em> for winter gardening. In the main, I've promoted it as a means to eating well." — From an article by Chris Smith in <em>The Seattle Post-Intelligencer</em>, June 19, 2008<br /> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> Tub-thumpers are a noisy (and sometimes amusing) lot. The earliest ones were preachers or public speakers with a predisposition for pounding their fists on the pulpit or lectern — perhaps to wake up their listeners! Back in the 17th century, the word "tub" was sometimes used as a synonym of "pulpit"; John Dryden, for example, used the word thus in 1680 when he wrote, "Jack Presbyter shall here erect his throne, Knock out a tub with preaching once a day." "Tub-thumper" has been naming loud, impassioned speakers since at least 1662, when it was used by a writer named Hugh Foulis to describe "a sort of people ... antick in their Devotions…."<br /><br /> </p> </font> |
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