# 'Embolden' (weak) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 26, 2007, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embolden-weak/389628 "2007-01-26T21:49:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embolden-weak/389628/101 "2007-01-27T18:44:24Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Bedizen, noumenal, coacervate, condign, concupiscent, and uxorious don’t even make the list; nor does asshat. Mmmmmmm. Concupiscent curds. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embolden-weak/389628/102 "2007-01-27T19:06:44Z")
[QUOTE=El Cid Viscoso] Mmmmmmm. Concupiscent curds. [/QUOTE] Do you think Bush’s plan to surge troop levels will embolden the Curds? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embolden-weak/389628/103 "2007-01-27T19:08:00Z")
[QUOTE=whole bean] It’s perfectly cromulent; though I prefer embiggen. [/QUOTE] Damn you. I came in here to say embiggen. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embolden-weak/389628/104 "2007-01-27T19:26:26Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] > [@](#): > > Originally Posted by Sonia Montdore > “Embolden” is correct English. “Alright” is substandard usage. Depending on your linguistic philosophy, it is either an outright error that is distressingly widespread, or a perfectly standard usage that is unnecessarily condemned. > **[Penguin Random House](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/?date=19990604)** > > Committed to publishing great books, connecting readers and authors globally, and spreading the love of reading. [/QUOTE] No, “alright” will never look all right to me. But I wouldn’t start a Pit thread over it. ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embolden-weak/389628/105 "2007-01-27T19:30:03Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] Do you think Bush’s plan to surge troop levels will embolden the Curds? [/QUOTE] May God forbid it, lest we be accosted by a brazen jalapeno jack. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embolden-weak/389628/106 "2007-01-27T19:46:37Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] **Do you think Bush’s plan to surge troop levels will embolden the Curds?** [/QUOTE] **No Whey!** **This post has been emboldened by the emboldinator.** ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embolden-weak/389628/107 "2007-01-27T20:34:31Z")
[QUOTE=Colibri] **No Whey!** **This post has been emboldened by the emboldinator.** [/QUOTE] Your post has been graped by the emgrapinator! d&r ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2007, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embolden-weak/389628/108 "2007-01-27T21:01:25Z")
[QUOTE=sinjin] Think you misspelled [blackguard](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/blackguard) there, sparky. After you eviscerate all those orphans, you won’t be able to swap out your paladin levels if you can’t find the thing in the DMG… [/QUOTE] Anyone who spells St. John “Sinjin” is in no position to judge. At any rate, I was going with the Irish Country variant, c. 1683. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embolden-weak/389628/109 "2007-01-30T16:05:48Z")
[QUOTE=born too late] Stupid **bushisms.** It might be a real word. It might be in the dictionary. It might be used by the sheep media. But I hate that freakin’ word, because it sounds so stupid. [/QUOTE] Forest for the trees, people. Forest for the trees… ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embolden-weak/389628/110 "2007-01-30T19:53:04Z")
Pit nuculear and the endless use of robust. I can not spell nucular like he says it.They piss me off.Next time Rice says robust ,the questioner should sucker punch her. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embolden-weak/389628/111 "2007-01-30T20:18:04Z")
My comments regarding the OP are in the [other thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=405830) where **born too late** demonstrates that he is a full-fledged ass, not just a half-assed poster. There was one question, however, that led me to post here, too… [QUOTE=jsgoddess] Like a rat fleeing to a sinking ship, I shall stand up, er… whilst fleeing, and say that I also hate the word “embolden.” [/QUOTE] Don’t most rats flee _from_ sinking ships rather than _to_ them? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embolden-weak/389628/112 "2007-01-30T20:21:48Z")
Not if they’re elite search and rescue rats. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embolden-weak/389628/113 "2007-01-30T20:36:35Z")
[QUOTE=InvisibleWombat] Don’t most rats flee _from_ sinking ships rather than _to_ them? [/QUOTE] I made no claim to be a smart rat. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embolden-weak/389628/114 "2007-01-30T20:55:16Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] Not if they’re elite search and rescue rats. [/QUOTE] I love those guys, with their little one-shot casks of brandy tucked under their chins. They’re great when you’re trapped under fallen timbers in a mine, because they can gnaw the timbers off of you. They’re not quite as good as the SAR beavers, though. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embolden-weak/389628/115 "2007-01-30T21:19:03Z")
[QUOTE=InvisibleWombat] Don’t most rats flee _from_ sinking ships rather than _to_ them? [/QUOTE] Not if they’ve been… ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embolden-weak/389628/116 "2007-01-30T22:04:57Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] Not if they’re elite search and rescue rats. [/QUOTE] I’ve never heard of resuce rats, but I have heard of [Rescue Ferrets](http://www.amazon.com/Rescue-Ferrets-Sea-Richard-Bach/dp/0743227506/sr=8-1/qid=1170194630/ref=sr_1_1/002-4071462-4793634?ie=UTF8&s=books) ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embolden-weak/389628/117 "2007-01-31T03:05:35Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] Anyone who spells St. John “Sinjin” is in no position to judge. [/quote] 🆒 > [@](#): > > At any rate, I was going with the Irish Country variant, c. 1683. Cite? (No really, I’ve never seen it spelled like that.) ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embolden-weak/389628/118 "2007-01-31T21:14:50Z")
[QUOTE=sinjin] Cite? (No really, I’ve never seen it spelled like that.) [/QUOTE] I would cite it , but I made that part up. So, my post is my cite. I found it on some blog or other while I was looking up archaic terms to throw at the OP. It was in a list of other words, and frankly, I did not make the connection to “blackguard.” I just figured it was a noun and threw it in. ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embolden-weak/389628/119 "2007-01-31T21:35:29Z")
[QUOTE=sinjin] 🆒 Cite? (No really, I’ve never seen it spelled like that.) [/QUOTE] Just for you. [1.](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Blaggard) [2.](http://www.greathoboes.com/commentary/wade17.htm) [3.](http://www.achehtimes.com/wordwealth/a-z/b/blackguard.htm) [4.](http://onelook.datamuse.com/?w=blaggard) ---
**Author:** ![Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c4cdca/32.png) [@Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quiddity_Glomfuster)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2007, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embolden-weak/389628/120 "2007-02-01T08:21:53Z")
[QUOTE=Giraffe] Seventy three. “Maiden maiden embolden?” we would ask. “Embolden!” they’d shout, joyfully. “Embolden maiden codpiece!” [/QUOTE] I believe that should be ‘Llama, llama, duck’. [QUOTE= Miller] I’m delighted to report that one of my co-workers, entirely unprompted by me or anything in this thread, just used the word “codpiece” in casual **convsersation**. [/QUOTE] my emph. So you were talking about lunch. Big whoop. I guess maybe your sympathies lie with Shrub because you are also given to coming up with new!!! improved!!! words? (note the bold). For the edification of the OP, and a poke in the eye to the detractors of same OP, Jon Stewart did a hilarious bit mocking ‘Embolden’ on the show I watched tonight. It’s not up at his site yet but when it is you must watch. I was laughing too hard to keep track of the numerable comedicious words Jon and John conglomerized but I think some are worthy of adopting into English permanently. Point was, he also thinks Bush is an ass with all his ‘embolden’ bullhockey. BTW, a quickie search of the major reference sources for quotations found ‘embolden’ - in documents written prior to the last century. As for the google hits, many are dictionary references, others are news stories about Shrub & co. and many more refer to old poems and plays. If it’s used in common parlance at all, it’s in the adjectival form, ‘emboldened’ (2,340,000 hits). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/embolden-weak/389628.md?page=5)