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Aug 24, 2011
This week's themeWords to describe people This week's words parvenu nubile mountebank losel penurious Follow us on 
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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Gargmountebank
PRONUNCIATION:
(MOUN-tuh-bangk)
MEANING:
noun: An unscrupulous pretender; a quack.
ETYMOLOGY:
A mountebank was a hawker of quack medicines who peddled his wares from the
top of a bench to attract customers. The word is from Italian montambanco
(one who climbs on a bench), from montare (to climb) + im-/in- (on) + banco (bench).
Earliest documented use: 1577.
USAGE:
"Billy Graham is now at death's door, and I shudder at the fulsome eulogies
and encomiums that will be heaped on him upon his demise. Fortunately,
Bothwell's book [The Prince of War] can provide a salutary antidote to them. It's the only
fitting memorial for Graham and stands as a stark warning to posterity to
be on guard against similar charlatans, mountebanks, and demagogues,
especially in the fertile field of religion. Bothwell's book should be
required reading for all Americans."Richard A. S. Hall; Evangelist Unmasked; Free Inquiry (Amherst, New York); Aug/Sep 2011. See more usage examples of mountebank in Vocabulary.com's dictionary. A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The world is a looking glass, and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face. -William Makepeace Thackeray, novelist (1811-1863)
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