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A.Word.A.Day--fiasco

fiasco (fee-AS-koh) noun

A complete failure.

[French, from Italian fare fiasco, to make a bottle, fail, from fiasco, bottle (translation of French bouteille, bottle, error, used by the French for linguistic errors committed by Italian actors on the 18th-century French stage), from Late Latin flasco.]

"President Obasanjo has, at several fora been accused of having this unexplainable contempt for sports... One of the greatest tragedies this year for close watchers of the intrigues of sports in Nigeria would be for the president, after a possible disgraceful outing in Sydney repeats his statement of the post All Africa Games fiasco. Remember it? He said, blame me, not my minister." Click The Glasses? P.M. News - Nigeria, Jun 2, 2000.

This week's theme: words from the Italian language.

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