April 27, 2006
Etymology and History Posted by John Steele Gordon at 12:10 PM EST Words often have a lot of history lurking within them. Yesterday I used the term “bloviating,” with regard to politicians talking about oil prices. The definition of the verb bloviate is “to speak verbosely and windily.” In other words, to say nothing much at great length. It is an entirely American word and is not to be found in the OED. It is not surprising that the word is usually associated with politicians, although brothers-in-law and such come in for their share of the scorn that lies behind the word. It is particularly associated with Warren G. Harding, who was the master of the lengthy, content-free political speech. But in fact, the word antedates Harding by more than half a century, first appearing in the 1850s. Its etymology is obscure, probably coming from blow as in blowhard, with a pseudo-Latin ending to lend a suitable pomposity to it. The word disappeared from use shortly after Harding’s death, only to reappear in the 1960s, when the best modern biography of Harding, The Shadow of Blooming Grove, by Francis Russell, was published. It came into its own in the 1990s, however, when the country had another President notorious for his reluctance to stop talking. (Then-Governor Clinton’s nearly endless speech to the 1988 Democratic Convention was largely ignored by the delegates until the phrase “In conclusion . . .” drew thunderous applause.)
One of my favorite words associated with political speech is the noun bomfog, defined as “platitudinous political rhetoric or obfuscation.” Its etymology, happily, is crystal clear. The word dates only to the 1960s and is an acronym for “Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood Of God.” That phrase was first used in a radio speech by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., in 1941, and his son Nelson was so fond of it that he used it often in his speeches as governor of New York, presidential candidate, and Vice President under Gerald Ford. So often, in fact, that Hy Sheffer, the stenotypist who took down all his speeches, reduced the phrase to bomfog to save himself time.
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