Tristin Hopper wrote recently in the National Post, that Liberal MP Benjamin Russell declared a speech by Minister of Militia Sam Hughes, “a medley of blatherskite and rodomontade.” Many newspapers across the country picked up the story and published it. The National Post entitled the article, “From ‘blatherskite’ to ‘pompous ass,’ Canadian politicians used to be better at swearing.” Hopper wrote, “Long gone are the days where our elected representatives could craft elegant and evocative takedowns of their political enemies.” He points out that “despite being an excellent insult for any parliament, the common usage of blatherskite died out in Canada right around the time of the Great Depression.”
A blatherskite is a person who talks at great length without making much sense. The word has a Scots background, combining blather with skate. A skate is a contemptible person. Blather means to talk foolishly at length, nonsensical or inconsequential talk or writing. Blather was first used in 1524. Blather derives from the Germanic blodern, meaning to chatter and the Norse word blathra, translated as to babble. Blatherskite appeared in English around 1650 as a person who babbles a lot. Alternate words are balderdash, baloney, blarney, bull, bunkum, codswallop, and twaddle.
Rodomontade is a blustery rant. The word comes from the French rodomont, originally referring to a strong breeze on the water, a violent commotion. In the 15th century Italian Count Matteo Boiardo wrote Orlando Innamorato about a boastful king named Rodomonte. English speakers began to use rodomont as a synonym for a braggart, shortly after.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was accused earlier this month of using un-parliamentary language in the House of Commons when he articulated a form of ‘f—k’ when questioned about the Freedom Convoy protesters. Hopper comments, “But if Trudeau can be faulted for anything, it’s a lack of imagination in his choice of parliamentary cursing. When the modern parliamentarian loses their cool, they usually rely on some variant of a four-letter word.”
In the 1950s New Brunswick Liberal Andrew Wesley Stuart was often referred to as a dim-witted saboteur. Progressive Conservative Jack Horner quipped, “you know very well that we have more to do than to listen to this dim-witted, foul-mouthed saboteur of New Brunswick. You are a disgrace to this house.”
Oh, for the days of witty take downs in parliamentary speech. As Tristin Hopper shares, “the last parliamentary utterance of blatherskite occurred in 1998 from none other than Newfoundland’s John Crosbie, whose House of Commons speeches were particularly laced with oldtimey insults (as well as about half a dozen interjections of “bulls--t”).”
In 1988 Crosbie uttered, “"Is nothing to be confidential any longer? Are we to be stripped naked as newts before the world? Can you govern in a fishbowl? Aren't we all even to have little jockey shorts any longer on us?"
He also wisecracked, “"It is certainly a daunting task to see the spurious indignation gather on their brows as they rise to ask a question. But I have no doubt that our colleagues opposite in the Liberal ranks will quickly develop the same amount of spurious indignation and vainglorious air that the NDP have. The more effective they can be, the better it will be for us. I invite them to ask me the toughest, meanest, dirtiest kinds of questions they can, and I will respond in my usual statesman-like fashion."
Many of us have moments of pontification about subjects that we really do not understand. Carefully choose your words in sharing your opinions so that you may not be labeled a blatherskite spewing rodomontade. Although there are worse labels to drape on us. As Proverbs 17:28 exclaims, “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.”
Columnist John Kreutzwieser loves to research words and writes this weekly Word Wisdom column for Moose Jaw Express/MooseJawToday.com. He has an interest in the usage, origin, and relevance of words for society today. Greek and Latin form the basis of many words, with ancient Hebrew shedding light on word usage.
John would like to know if anyone has a sincere interest in a relevant word that he could possibly research for an upcoming column. If so, please send your requests to [email protected] . Words will be selected according to relevance and research criteria. We cannot confirm that all words will be used.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
