Iraqi staffers start blogging
Iraqi staffers at the McClatchy bureau in Baghdad have starting posting items at "Inside Iraq," a group blog hosted by the Washington bureau. Their contributions so far touch widely varied subjects in varying levels of literary style -- but all have a raw, authentic quality I think adds an arresting verisimilitude to the postings.
–Howard Weaver
What does "verisimilitude" mean?
ReplyDeleteAmerican Heritage Dictionary -
ReplyDeletever·i·si·mil·i·tude (věr'ə-sĭ-mĭl'ĭ-tōōd', -tyōōd') Pronunciation Key
n.
1. The quality of appearing to be true or real. See Synonyms at truth.
2. Something that has the appearance of being true or real.
So it's an arresting _appearance_ of truthfulness? Are you saying the postings aren't true?
ReplyDelete"Don't be tempted by the $20 word when there is a 10-center handy, ready and able." -- Strunk and White
Shallow thinking.
ReplyDeleteThe fact is, I'm in no position to know whether somebody's blog posting is true; what I can know is that it feels true to me when I read it ... so that's what I said.
Acknowledging my limits in this case (I am not their editor) casts no aspersion on the work. Things that ARE true have the appearance of being true, do they not?
For your convenience:
as·per·sion (ə-spûr'zhən, -shən)
n.
1. An unfavorable or damaging remark
:)
It just seems odd that in a medium that strives for clarity you would choose to use language that a college graduate would have to look up. That seems to spring more from self-indulgence than from a desire to serve the reader.
ReplyDelete"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter--’tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning."
ReplyDeleteMark Twain
DLitt, Oxford
P.S. I really appreciate your comments and arguments. *Nobody* really talks much on this blog ...
ReplyDelete\-\/\/