 "Shashi Tharoor teaches meaning of 'Quockerwodger': All the times the Congress MP made people reach for their dictionaries")
It is not rare for one to find a difficult-to-pronounce and impossible to understand English word in Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s Twitter. The Thiruvananthapuram MP on Wednesday posted another such English word – quockerwodger – that left netizens looking for their dictionaries. “A useful addition to our political vocabulary!?” Tharoor added that the word he informed dates back to 1860. The man of many words helpfully shared the meaning too. “A quockerwodger was a type of wooden puppet. In politics, a quockerwodger was a politician acting on the instructions of an influential third party, rather than properly representing their constituents,” he said.
A useful addition to our political vocabulary!? #Quockerwodger pic.twitter.com/iGSCMY6tzA
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 20, 2022
This was not the first time that the author-politician-wordsmith sent Twitterati into a tizzy with his knowledge of the language, let’s take a look when Tharoor’s words made dictionaries useful again: Allodoxaphobia Last year, Tharoor took a dig at the BJP with the word ‘allodoxaphobia’, which he said was the word of “the last seven years”. He explained the word, which means an irrational fear of opinions, and its usage in a sentence, using the BJP and its actions in Uttar Pradesh as an example.
Word of the day, indeed of the last seven years: *Allodoxaphobia*
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) December 12, 2021
Meaning: an irrational fear of opinions.
Usage: “The BJP government in UP slaps sedition& UAPA cases on people because its leadership suffers from allodoxaphobia.”
(Greek: Allo=different, doxo=opinion,phobos=fear
Floccinaucinihilipilification Before that, the Congress MP engaged in a friendly banter with TRS working president KT Rama Rao over COVID-19 medicine names and threw in the obscure ‘floccinaucinihilipilification’. The TRS president had to pull out a dictionary and a “Tharoorosaurus” to comprehend.
Not guilty! How can you indulge in such floccinaucinihilipilification, @KTRTRS? Left to me I'd happily call them "CoroNil", "CoroZero", & even "GoCoroNaGo!" But these pharmacists are more procrustean.... https://t.co/YrIFSoVquo
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 21, 2021
🙏 Devudaaaa.....had to pull out a dictionary & Tharoorosaurus to comprehend
— KTR (@KTRBRS) May 21, 2021
P.s: loved the Coronil dig 😁 https://t.co/V63zmc7suF
Oxford dictionary describes ‘floccinaucinihilipilification’ as the action or habit of estimating something as worthless. Troglodyte In 2018, the Congress MP slammed BJP leader Vinay Katiyar who had stirred a storm by his remark that the Taj Mahal will soon be renamed as ‘Tej Mandir’. Tharoor responded to Katiyar’s remark by saying, “We can’t let these troglodytes destroy our country & everything beautiful in it.”
We can't let these troglodytes destroy our country & everything beautiful in it. https://t.co/30TB4lXrrb
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) February 6, 2018
Although not entirely an obscure word, many scurried to find their dictionaries to know that the word refers to people who have lived in a cave, or someone deliberately ignorant. Rodomontade When not-so-rare words like puerile and troglodyte started going viral, Tharoor took to Twitter to justify his use of big words and ended up giving fodder to social media. “… I choose my words because they are the best ones for the idea I want to convey, not the most obscure or rodomontade ones,” he tweeted. The word ‘Rodomontade’ means boastful or inflated talk or behaviour.
To all the well-meaning folks who send me parodies of my supposed speaking/writing style: The purpose of speaking or writing is to communicate w/ precision. I choose my words because they are the best ones for the idea i want to convey, not the most obscure or rodomontade ones!
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) December 13, 2017
Webaqoof From using obscure English words, Tharoor in July went on to invent one, ‘Webaqoof’. He tweeted, ‘New Hinglish 21st century dictionary: *Webaqoof*: “one who believes every claim or allegation on the internet & social media must be true”.
New Hinglish 21st century dictionary:
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 25, 2017
*Webaqoof*: "one who believes every claim or allegation on the internet & social media must be true"
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, ‘Farrago’ means hodgepodge, a confused mixture. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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