Thursday, February 28, 2013
"Fulsome"
This is note I took of a past "word crisis" between two educated and bright broadcasters:
The panel of commentators on radio's "Left, Right, and Center" had a difference of opinion about the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York City. Three of the panel opined positively about the protest, and one was pretty much ready to dismiss it.
Realizing the imbalance in the discussion, the moderator said, "Tony, you're outnumbered here; you deserve time for a fulsome response. Go ahead."
Tony said, "Fulsome means overripe. I wouldn't want to give that kind of response."
Both gentlemen were correct in their respective understandings of the word, but the danger is confusion. Merriam-Webster says fulsome can ambiguously mean "copious," "abundant," as the moderator intended, or "overdone," "excessively effusive," as Tony took it.
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Don, I read the Los Angeles Times, on line daily. And GOD forgive me, at the moment I am suffering from lack of sleep and brain farts - but I read in the obituaries that a gentleman in the age range of his later years, 90+, had passed. The column listed him as the "father" and/or "inspiration" of the occupy movement. It was intriguing to read this tidbit of information. While I am not a believer of the recent interpretation of the Occupy Movements, I will concede that it does take an ounce of passion to follow an idea and support it. Sadly, some of the occupiers did not truly represent the movement in the most positive light. Just my opinion though.
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