20/01/2017 – The Twenty-Four Lx Minutes Catamenia Nosotros Lost A Bang-Up Word: Great

Things happened ane twelvemonth agone that non a few withal can't fathom (personally, I was non overly surprised; but I am a realist). And I'm certainly at that topographic point volition survive an endless discover of articles summarising the year. But for me, the election of a TV clown together with orange-billionaire (not to survive confused amongst orange-utans) every bit 45^th president of the U.S., meant a personal loss. I lost a word, I liked to use: the English linguistic communication give-and-take "great".

For a non-native speaker, detail a German linguistic communication one, "great" is a prissy word.

First, it's simple, together with in all probability ane of the showtime words of the English linguistic communication language that tin survive memorised together with pronounced properly. It is related to similar sounding words inwards other Germanic languages. In German, nosotros receive got groß, which tin hateful large, tall, big, or great. It's today to a greater extent than oft than non a give-and-take of physical measurement, unless used amongst a mortal or matter of value. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 große(r) Frau/Mann addresses a great (wo)man, ein großer Schatz can survive a great (meta-physically) or large (mere amount) treasure. All "XXX the Great" are der/die Große in German, such every bit Alexander, Katarina, Friedrich etc.

The showtime fourth dimension I was on my ain inwards England (2-week student exchange), I used it excessively, lacking the vocabulary to limited myself otherwise.

Very much similar my favourite Turkish word, güzel, which tin hateful anything profoundly positive betwixt nice, beautiful together with ... well, great. No Turk volition survive insulted if you lot telephone outcry upwardly his married adult woman güzel (use amongst attention for single daughters, depending on the area) or the Blue Mosque, Turkey (Turkiye) itself is güzel, naturally (well, it was, a certainly president is doing a great chore changing this). It's slow to pronounce (for a German) together with has a diphtong! My other favourite word, amongst 4 üs is Müdürlüğü, the (head) direction purpose – a give-and-take demonstrating the logic of the Turkish language: müdür – leader, boss, etc.; -lü + what a mortal does/thing is like, -ğü – the house where it happens.

And this brings us to Donald The Trump(el), together with how he ruined it. Obviously also lacking the vocabulary (you know: I am a very, real educated person, thus passed the test for non suffering from Alzheimer amongst total points. Great! #MAGA), he used "great" to address (incomprehensive selection):

• The in all probability worst functioning ever during a presidential campaign; he exclusively won the primaries because the Republican arrangement ensures anyone getting roughly 30% of the votes volition locomote candidate when the others are fifty-fifty worse (see the Green Papers for how it works); together with became president falling curt of roughly 3 ane thou one thousand votes. Surely the greatest victory ever! And his greatest [Republican] electoral college since Reagan (Trumpel got 306; 304 voted for him) was 120 heads curt compared to Bush the Elder (Clinton had 370, + five Mio votes; together with Obama 365, + 10 Mio votes, showtime time; fifty-fifty Bush the Younger fared better: exclusively 271 electors, but also exclusively one-half a ane thou one thousand curt on votes; together with it withal bugs the Big Baby according to his tweets).
  
• Anyone he simply appointed to office, great, great guy, or endorsed, great, great guy, is doing a great function #MAGA. Many of which are together with then doing a poor job, sad! (e.g. Sessions also started every bit a great, great man), or receive got non done anything thus far ...
• That he'll create a great, great wall to United Mexican States (and makes Apple to pay for it, sort-of) instead of the ground already there.
• Making America Great Again! Well, it's actually impressive to encounter that unemployment dropped from over 40% (felt, infamous Gingrich interview; Trumpel on the topic) to 4.5% doing a really, actually great, great chore here. Equally great are the percussions of stripping downward Obamacare, which – every bit promised – Big Baby Trumpel – replaced past times something much greater. You'll see, eventually.
• Stripping downward EPA, thus it cannot exercise its function together with reducing the size of protected dry soil thus mining companies tin receive got slow access at around call for inwards the future, great chance here. 
• Hire a two-employee companionship amongst links to the Secretary of the Interior to re-install the electrical grid inwards the colony (Puerto Rico), which are doing a great job.
• Helping the "conservative" (conservation agency to protect, non to destruct) together with "libertarian" institution (i.e. billionaires backing the Republicans together with funding creationists: consumers don't call for education, exclusively voters do) to brand the United States of America fifty-fifty less social than it already is. Really great! From a European perspective, the U.S.'s social arrangement is a actually great mess (inefficient, overly expensive, together with lacking minimum safeguards) together with a great, great embarrassment for ane of the richest countries inwards the world.

Without doubt, he's past times far the greatest liar (on record) that ever took the Oval Office (more than 2000 since taking office, actually great! Those capable of German, encounter here for a Bilanz; for others: here's PolitiFacts profile, he's actually the great human being that The Fallen Bannon sees inwards him).

In short, the Trumpel made the give-and-take "great" a synonym of mediocre, bad, nasty, unbelievably stupid, or a vehicle to hide-up (very badly, I may say) an obvious lie. These times, when you lot exercise it, great ever seems to come upwardly inwards quotation marks ... yeah, actually "great".

Trumpelchen literally took the grandeur from "great". So sad!!!

So now, when I receive got to adress something that would receive got done amongst "great" earlier (e.g. great thing, great job, great picture, that's great), I hesitate. I don't desire to depreciate something past times using the deflated "great", together with receive got to remember of something else. "Nice" has locomote something of a touchstone inwards my English linguistic communication correspondence/conversations (it was Good Omens that pointed out the versatile exercise of "nice" to me: A Nice together with Accurate Description of the Things to Come by Agnes Nutter, Witch; ever wanted to title a newspaper A Nice together with Accurate Phylogeny of ..., but my co-authors didn't allowed me to).

But at that topographic point are to a greater extent than alternatives, together with other contexts. Native English linguistic communication speakers volition in all probability know them (unless they enjoyed the same great education every bit the United States of America president), for all others hither are around suggestions from my (analogue) thesaurus (The Original Roget's International Thesaurus. Revised together with Updated 6^th Edition). Quite a listing for "great":

• as noun: skilful mortal (section 413.14) — ace, star, crackerjack, dab, topnotcher, first-rater, whizz, flash, pisser [really?! in all probability non a proficient alternative when conversing amongst an American], world-beater, hot stone [a must for a geologist similar me!];
• in the feel of "great keyboard" (711.17) — organ, keyboard air current musical instrument [I learned playing the piano, but didn't know people telephone outcry upwardly organs "great keyboards". Second thought: Trumpel might, later visiting Notre-Dame in Paris. Visited the big, large church, great, great keyboard, loved to play, but French president Marrone (or something similar that), great man, tiny hands, soft, thus soft handshake, non allow me. So sad!];
• as adjective: important (78.18) — gestating, breeding, teeming, parturient, wearing her apron high [possibly flake outdated], gravid, heavy, big-laden;
• in the feel of "grand" (247.6) [here nosotros go] — considerable, consequential, mighty, powerful, strong, irresistible [Now I empathise why genuinely great men tin catch them past times the pussy], intense, total, full, serious, heavy, deep;
• in the context of "chief" (249.14) — main, principal, paramount, leading, prime, supereminent, preponderant;
• in the feel of "large" (257.16) — sizeable, big, grand, tall, considerable, goodly [Hm..that sounds classic: "Oh my goodness, what a goodly bosom" may non yet qualify for #MeToo; no warranties taken!], tidy, substantial, bumper [hm... every bit inwards "ouch...what a bumper speed bump"?], good-sized; 
• in the context of "authoritative" (417.15) — clothed/vested/invested amongst authorization [something great Trumpel should receive got per office, but does non wield inwards reality], commanding, imperative, powerful, potent, influential, prestigious, weighty, momentous [see also "chief"]
• in the feel of "magnanimous" (652.6), e.g. great-souled/-spirited — generous, liberal [to exercise Liberal Denial post], big-/large-hearted, noble-/high-minded, idealistic, benevolent, noble, princely, lofty [Is this the ground lofts are called lofts? They accuse ordinarily princely prices for them...], sublime;
• in the feel of "eminent" (662.18) — high, exalted, elevated, enskyed, awesome, enobled, aggrandised, deified, apotheosised [see also "magnanimous" together with "grand"]
• in the feel of "important" (997.17) — major, consequential, significant, world-shaking, earthshaking, high-powered, double-barrelled, bigwigged, mega [see also "grand" together with "chief"];
• in the feel of "excellent" (999.13) [this is a fun-list, exclusively non-formal terms] — swell, dandy, bitchin', jim dandy, neat, neato, super-duper [and I thought that's a Swedish invention], fab, fantabulous, marvy, gear, ducky, dynamite, killer, hot, nifty, sexy, spiffy, nobby, peachy, delicious, scrumptious, hunky-dory, stunning, corking, smashing, rum (Brit.), bonzer (Austr.), bang-/jam-/slap-up, (A-)OK, copacetic [that doesn't strike me non-formal...], phat;
• as interjection: bravo! (509.22) — good done!, ¡ole!, bene!, hear, hear!, hurrah!, whizzo!, swell!, atta[?!]boy!/-girl/-baby/-gal, encore!, bis!, congratulations!

So brand exercise of them, together with allow us forget virtually "great". Apologise inwards example ane of those higher upwardly pop-up inwards the incorrect context inwards ane of my time to come posts. Let's acquire out "doing great" to the Trumpelchen, who has iii to a greater extent than years.