since earliest days,
Republic descended to
tergiversations
From the Mencken Project
I had to come up with the this one only to be able to use the word tergiversations.
The online Merriam-Webster defines it “as evasion of straightforward action or clear-cut statement.”
In French, it might mean, Fait de tergiverser ; attitude d’une personne qui tergiverse.
Which translates, Procrastinating; attitude of a procrastinating person.
Been one all my life but never knew I was tergiversationing.
But I do now!
Seems it has been used twice in American Literature.
This time here by Mr. Menckon.
And another time when George Will … was quoting Mr. Menckon.
The line is, “That the United States, in its foreign relations, has descended to gross deceits and tergiversations since the earliest days of the Republic was long ago pointed out by Lecky; it is regarded universally to-day as a pious fraud.”
From Notes on Democracy, 1927
No Haiku For You 