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

[C G Estabrook]

Oh, no, Ma! Too Poetic!


> On Nov 11, 2018, at 1:33 AM, E. Wayne Johnson via Peace-discuss <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net> wrote:
> 
> obfuscate and bamboozle seem to be intellectually onomatopoetic
> 
> 
> 
> Szoke, Ron via Peace-discuss 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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