by Kevin Burton
Some of the entries on today’s word list from Merriam-Webster I learned as a wee lad, by following the news about the federal government.
If it hadn’t been for the Nixon Administration and the Watergate scandal, I would have thought hush money was money a parent spends to keep the kids from nagging them about this or that toy.
We learned a lot of things from the Nixon bunch, public servants out to enrich the vocabularies of the little people. Hail to the unindicted co-conspirator-in-chief.
After Nixon left the scene TV detective Baretta told us “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.” Actor Robert Blake who played Baretta, was later accused of, then acquitted, of murder and conspiracy in the May, 2001 shooting death of his wife Bonny Lee Bakley. He later lost a civil case brought by Bakley’s children. After being ordered to pay $15 million, Blake filed for bankruptcy.
Many believe Blake did the crime, without doing the time.
I don’t have the power to throw the book at wrongdoers, unless by “the book” you mean the dictionary. Some crime words and phrases , from Merriam-Webster:
Perjury– the act or crime of knowingly making a false statement while under oath.
The Latinate prefix found at the beginning of perjury (per-) may mean a number of different things in English, such as ‘through,’ ‘throughout,’ or ‘containing the largest possible or a relatively large proportion of a (specified) chemical element especially as a result of exhaustive substitution for hydrogen or of exhaustive addition in an organic compound or group.’
However, in Latin per– could also mean “harmfully,” and this is the one which is attached to perjury. If one commits perjury one is a perjurer, the adjectival form of the word is perjurious, and the adverb is perjuriously.
Kickback: – a percentage payment exacted as a condition for granting assistance by one in a position to open up or control a source of income or gain.
Kickbacks aren’t always illegal, and also do not necessarily have to refer to money given in a quid pro quo manner. The word may refer to such things as “a sharp violent reaction,” which was commonly applied in the early 20th century to something that automobiles occasionally would do. The monetary sense of the word likewise dates to the first half of the 20th century, and is often applied to the demand for money in exchange for job placement or some similar concession.
Launder – to transfer (money or instruments deriving from illegal activity) so as to conceal the true nature and source.
Launder has been in English as a verb since the 17th century, and despite more than 350 years of common use did not pick up many figurative meanings until recently. The ‘washing’ of money or funds dates to the latter half of the 20th century.
Although it had previously been speculated that this sense arose from the Watergate investigations the word was applied to financial chicanery engaged in by non-political criminals prior to this.
Extortion – the act or practice of extorting especially money or other property
Extortion has an additional specific meaning: “the act or practice of extorting by a public official acting under color of office.” The word may be traced, fittingly enough, to the Latin extortio, meaning “torture.” Should you be unfortunate enough to make the acquaintance of one who engages in this practice you may refer to them as either an extortioner or an extortionist.
Hush money – money paid so that someone will keep information secret : money that a person pays someone to hush something up.
Hush money sounds like something one gives to one’s children while dining out at a fancy restaurant, in the hopes that they will be quiet and let the adults have a conversation. While we have no evidence that this term has been used in this fashion we also have no proof that it hasn’t, so if you are in the habit of bribing your spawn you may refer to it thusly. The commonly accepted use of the word is fairly old, dating back to the 17th century.
Tomorrow: more crime words, including racketeer (no, that’s not a tennis player).
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