imbroglio

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uncronopio
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imbroglio

Postby uncronopio » Sun Jun 12, 2005 8:57 pm

n 1. A confused or perplexing political or interpersonal situation. 2. Obsolete a confused heap, jumble.

Etymology: from Italian imbrogliare to confuse, embroil.

From Collins, paper edition.
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Brazilian dude
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Postby Brazilian dude » Sun Jun 12, 2005 10:03 pm

There's something I don't understand. We also use that word in Portuguese, pronounce it like Italian and spell it imbróglio. To me that's ridiculous. If we were to keep the g in Portuguese, we should pronounce it. This is a half-Portuguesefied word, we decided to add an accent to it because it's a proparoxytone but have kept the Italian g. Go figure!

Brazilian dude
Languages rule!

Apoclima
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Postby Apoclima » Tue Jun 14, 2005 1:36 am

Wow! Proparoxytone! That sounds flammable. I prefer antepenult(imate).

BD, I couldn't agree with you more. Get those foreign word to conform to Portuguese spelling and pronunciation as soon as they creep into the language, or your going to end up with a horrible hodgepodge as we have in English.

Apo
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Brazilian dude
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Postby Brazilian dude » Tue Jun 14, 2005 9:45 am

Good words, Apo.

Brazilian dude
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tcward
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Postby tcward » Tue Jun 14, 2005 1:31 pm

Proparoxytone sounds like a facial skin cleanser... LOL.

Don't just tone your skin -- PROPAROXYTONE it!!

-Tim

M. Henri Day
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Postby M. Henri Day » Tue Jun 14, 2005 1:45 pm

Proparoxytone sounds like a facial skin cleanser...
Or a hormone....

Henri
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