Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Saturday - Day 216 - Pusillanimous

Occasionally, John likes to send me words he comes across in his daily readings to incorporate into my blog.  I usually find a place for these words, except for one.

I could not find an appropriate use for his latest word.  Instead I am dedicating my entire blog entry to it.

When you're trying to think of just the right word to describe a behavior of a person or group with a small spirit, cowardly in nature or not likely to stand up for themselves due to fear, the word pusillanimous should be evident.  It can describe a viewpoint or political stance as well.  


Famous Quotes using this word: 

"Ultraliberalism today translates into a whimpering isolationism in foreign policy, a mulish obstructionism in domestic policy, and a pusillanimous pussyfooting on the critical issue of law and order."     Spiro T. Agnew (b. 1918), U.S. Republican politician, vice president. Speech, September 10, 1970, Springfield, Illinois. Collected Speeches of Spiro Agnew (1971). 







"How dare I read Washington's campaigns, when I have not answered the letters of my own correspondents? Is not that a just objection to much of our reading? It is a pusillanimous desertion of our work to gaze after our neighbors. It is peeping.   Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882), U.S. essayist, poet, philosopher. "Spiritual Laws," Essays, First Series (1841, repr. 1847). 





I have yet found a way to incorporate this word into my daily dialog.  But, there's no harm in passing it on now is there?  Maybe at your next dinner party, you'll find the perfect moment to slip it into conversation. 

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