Badinage

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Dr. Goodword
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Badinage

Postby Dr. Goodword » Sat May 15, 2021 7:01 pm

• badinage •


Pronunciation: bæd-ê-nahzhHear it!

Part of Speech: Noun, mass (no plural)

Meaning: Light, cheerful banter; humorous light-hearted chatting.

Notes: No, badinage is a good thing, despite its orthographical aspect (spelling). It is based on a now obsolete adjective badine "light-hearted, frivolous, flippant", so its original meaning was something like "flippancy, frivolity". Today it is used strictly in connection with chatter. A person who indulges in badinage is a badineur.

In Play: Badinage is the cheerful small talk we all appreciate at the end of a hard day or week: "Myna Bird is such a master of sophisticated dinner badinage that no one in Smoketown would dare stage a dinner party without inviting her." Elsewhere our appreciation of badinage dips if not disappears: "The superficial badinage that passes for news analysis on radio and TV these days is appalling."

Word History: Today's Good Word, as the suffix -age gives away, comes from French. It is based on badin "light-hearted, playful", an adjective from the verb badiner "to jest, take lightly". The French apparently adopted badin from Old Provençal, where it meant "a fool, dumb bunny", derived from badar "to gape". The French connection between "gaping" and "foolishness" also turns up in the very funny word gobemouche "naif, gullible person" based on the phrase gober (une) mouche "to swallow (a) fly", implying walking around with an open mouth and stupidity. I think this is one of the 100 Funniest Words in English—or any other language. (We are grateful that Jeremy Busch is capable of far deeper conversations than badinage as the eminent Slava in the Alpha Agora.)
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David Myer
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Re: Badinage

Postby David Myer » Thu May 20, 2021 10:41 pm

There is not enough Badinage around these days. I fear people are too busy. It takes some measure of relaxation to do it properly. I well remember many years ago in UK. I drove a considerable distance down a long country road and came to a petrol station. Needing directions as well as petrol, I stopped and asked the best way to the motorway. "It depends how much time you have". "Well I'm in no hurry," I replied. "Well you can go back the way you came for five miles and turn left, or if you hang about, it will be just across that field in a couple of years."

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Re: Badinage

Postby Dr. Goodword » Fri May 21, 2021 8:20 pm

Love the story.
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