WORD OF THE WEEK: Contest Follow-Up

A few weeks ago, I asked you to tell me the meaning of the Word of the Week, tergiversation—a word with two related meanings. Here was your hint:

"It's not uncommon for politicians to talk around a topic, making an art of tergiversation in answer to a question, especially on controversial subjects." Also: "Senator Arlen Specter has been accused of selling out to the highest-voting bidder after his tergiversation of the Republican Party."

Fellini69 took a stab at the meaning and got one half of the answer correct, winning a free hour of speech coaching. Here was her response:

"With the first example I thought, being intentionally vague, talking around something. The second example threw me and I thought perhaps it meant saying what one assumes others prefer to hear. So I looked it up on Merriam. I was partially correct :) As far etymology goes, the depth of my answer ends with assuming the roots are related to conversation."

Being "intentionally vague" is indeed one example of tergiversation. Its etymology comes from the French tergiverser, a verb meaning "to delay or hesitate" (according to Merriam-Webster.com).

Who can guess the secondary meaning of tergiversation? There is still one more week before the contest runs out on Monday, July 6, and one more open winner's spot. Remember, there's no such thing as cheating: It's perfectly legitimate to look the info. up, provided you share your source with us. So, don't tergiversate! Play the game and win today!

(c) KiKi Productions, Inc. 2009

WEEKLY UPDATE: Congratulations, winner Fellini69!

This week's contest earned its first of two winners yesterday: Fellini69 did the heavy lifting to figure out that tergiversation means "speaking intentionally vaguely or misleadingly." That's one of the two meanings of this week's word; do YOU know the other meaning?

Fellini69 also guessed at the word's etymology, and got a good guess in by connecting the word to conversation. (They are related!)

The grand prize for this great guesswork is ONE FREE HOUR OF SPEECH COACHING. I'll connect directly with Fellini69 next week to redeem the prize. And I'll be more accessible to all of you wonderful blog readers then, after the launch of my newly revamped website. Look for the link and further info. in Monday's post.

(c) KiKi Productions, Inc. 2009