Redstate

A Compendium of Useful Words and Phrases for the Traveler, Student, and Businessman

By blackhedd Posted in Breaking News | flip-flops | Obama — Comments (4) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Here at RedState, we have more than our share of accomplished linguists, and the appearance of a new language in nature is a matter of great interest to us.

Today in America, we’re witnessing the birth of a language (“Obamian”) which borrows heavily from the grammatical structure of American English, but with a heavy influence in matters of linguistic construction from the writings of George Orwell. Like any truly distinct language, Obamian has been observed to be highly consistent in regard to vocabulary and syntax.

We’ll be watching the development of this new language closely, with the ultimate aim of producing a complete vocabulary and grammar.

For now, here’s an initial set of essential words and phrases for the traveler or businessman (pronunciation generally follows American English):

"Consistently": Whenever this word appears (typically in the formulation "My position on XYZ has consistently been..."), it signifies that a flip-flop will appear in the next sentence.

"Inartful": This term (often appearing as “I expressed myself inartfully”) is used ironically to give a subtle impression that the speaker is acknowledging a flip-flop, while in reality he's blaming journalists for it.

"Puzzling": The speaker uses this word when a mainstream press outlet calls attention to one of his flip-flops. The term signifies that the speaker is not amused, and is intended to convey a vague threat or menace.

"This isn't the person I've known for many years": This phrase signifies that the speaker is about to throw a long-trusted friend or political ally under the bus.

This is the first installment. Feel free to add additional citations or naturally-occurring formulations of actual Obamian speech in the comments.

-Francis Cianfrocca