Oleaginous: adjective, ole·ag·i·nous, ō-lē-ˈa-jə-nəs
A few weeks ago, George Will sent Washington to the internet in search of meaning. Specifically, the meaning of a word.
I've been reading George Will for years and he is a great writer. He's been known to throw out a "big word" or two in his career as a syndicated columnist.
Dr. Will wrote a column about how awful Vice President Mike Pence is and said this:
"Donald Trump, with his feral cunning, knew. The oleaginous Mike Pence, with his talent for toadyism and appetite for obsequiousness, could, Trump knew, become America’s most repulsive public figure."
"Oleaginous" became the most searched for word that week on Dictionary.com
When I read the column, I must admit I did not know the meaning of the word. I assumed it was not a compliment.
And it wasn't unless you think "oily or greasy" is a compliment.
Now, I would not describe Vice President Mike as oily or greasy. He may be a little bland, particularly when compared to some of the other oleaginous members of the administration like Steve Bannon and Anthony Scaramucci. Talk about oleaginous.
It also has another meaning: "exaggeratedly and distastefully complimentary".
Ok, I can see that, although I don't see it as a big deal as George does. Since at least Vice President John Nance Garner, who famously said the Vice Presidency wasn't worth room temperature urine, Vice Presidents have been some of the greatest apple polishers and fanny smoochers in the history of apple polishing and fanny smooching.
Vice President Mike can lay it on kind of thick and if there's a President who enjoys that type of stuff it is President Orange. This gets under George Will's skin and he wrote about it. Will once called Dad Bush a "lap dog", so he has a history of dogging out Republican Vice Presidents. (Sorry, I couldn't resist it.)
In any event, I think we owe George thanks for bringing this word back in our vernacular. The Clearasil commercials practically write themselves.
"When you have oleaginous skin and you have a big date coming up, don't forget to drop by Walgreens and pick up some Clearasil".
I can use it in future humor memoirs.
"I wasn't popular in school. I was short and wore glasses. My hair was oleaginous."
On Facebook, I asked one of my high school English teachers, Roger Hines, if he knew what oleaginous meant.
Mr. Hines is one of the smartest people I've ever met, so I figure he would know it. He introduced me to the phrase "trousered apes" (which is from C.S. Lewis) and I think about it when I see Florida Georgia Line on television.
Mr. Hines said he hadn't heard of it, but another smart fellow, Jim McCartney, commented I should have known it because I took Latin in high school. That's the problem with Facebook, too many people know I took Latin in high school.
Jim (or as I know him: Jimmy) said I should have been able to figure out the meaning of the word from its Latin roots and it would make Mrs. Jenks proud.
Mrs. Jenks was my second year Latin teacher and I was probably her least intelligent student that year if not her career. I know I made her proud when I turned in my second year Latin Book, When Romulus Met Remus, in pristine condition. It was like I had never opened it.
But just think how my life would be different if I had opened that book. I would have known exactly what George Will meant. I could also sprinkle Latin words and terms in my blog posts and people would know that I am: A) Smart or B) Someone who stayed awake in Latin class.
Either way, I couldn't be oleaginous. I have a prescription for that
