[Peace-discuss] Keywords: obfuscate, obscurantism, bamboozle

[C G Estabrook]

Ron, you’ve managed to bamboozle me - or at least obfuscate for me the point of your circulating these quotations from the dictionary. Regards, Carl

> On Nov 9, 2018, at 11:49 AM, Szoke, Ron via Peace-discuss <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net> wrote:
> 
> Keywords  110918
> A review of some terms useful in political analysis & polemics
> 
> ob·fus·cate  (ŏb′fə-skāt′, ŏb-fŭs′kāt′)
> tr.v. ob·fus·cat·ed, ob·fus·cat·ing, ob·fus·cates
> 1. To make so confused or opaque as to be difficult to perceive or understand: "A great effort was made ... to obscure or obfuscate the truth" (Robert Conquest).
> 2. To render indistinct or dim; darken: The fog obfuscated the shore.
> [Latin obfuscāre, obfuscāt-, to darken : ob-, over; see ob- + fuscāre, to darken (from fuscus, dark).]
> ob′fus·ca′tion n.
> ob·fus′ca·to′ry (ŏb-fŭs′kə-tôr′ē, əb-) adj.
> American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
> 
> obfuscation (ˌɒbfʌsˈkeɪʃən)  n
> the act or an instance of making something obscure, dark, or difficult to understand
> Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
> 
> obfuscation
> the process of darkening or obscuring so as to hinder ready analysis.
> See also: Thinking
> 
> ob·scur·ant·ism  (ŏb-skyo͝or′ən-tĭz′əm, əb-, ŏb′skyo͝o-răn′-)  n.
> 1. The principles or practice of obscurants.
> 2. A policy of withholding information from the public.
> 3. a. A style in art and literature characterized by deliberate vagueness or obliqueness.
> b. An example or instance of this style.
> 
> ob·scur′ant·ist n.
> American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
> 
> ob•scu•rant•ism (əbˈskyʊər ənˌtɪz əm, ˌɒb skyʊˈræn tɪz əm)   n.
> 1. opposition to the increase and spread of knowledge.
> 2. deliberate obscurity or evasion of clarity.
> ob•scu′rant•ist, n., adj.
> Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
> 
> obscurantism
> the use of argument intended to prevent enlightenment or to hinder the process of knowledge and wisdom. Also spelled obscuranticism. — obscurantist, n. — obscurant, obscurantic, adj.
> See also: Argumentation
> 
> 
> bam·boo·zle  (băm-bo͞o′zəl)
> tr.v. bam·boo·zled, bam·boo·zling, bam·boo·zles Informal
> 1. To deceive or dupe; hoodwink. See Synonyms at deceive.
> 2. To confuse; bewilder.
> [Origin unknown.]
> bam·boo′zle·ment n.
> bam·boo′zler n.
> American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
> 
> bamboozle (bæmˈbuːzəl)
> vb (tr)
> 1. to cheat; mislead
> 2. to confuse
> [C18: of unknown origin]
> bamˈboozler n
> bamˈboozlement n
> Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
> 
> bam•boo•zle (bæmˈbu zəl) 
> 
> v. -zled, -zling. v.t.
> 1. to deceive or get the better of by underhandedness; hoodwink.
> 2. to perplex; mystify.
> v.i.
> 3. to practice trickery, deception, or the like.
> [1695–1705; orig. uncertain]
> bam•boo′zle•ment, n.
> bam•boo′zler, n.
> Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
> 
> —  from the online Free Dictionary by Farlex (q.v.)  
> ——
> 
> <Sagan on bamboozle.jpg>
> From:  The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark  (1996), p. 241.
> 
> Frequently noted:  It is usually far easier to bamboozle people than to get them to admit they have been bamboozled.   (“I’m much too smart, knowledgable & sophisticated to fall for THAT!” )  
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