By Sandy Compton
Reader Columnist
Trumpery
n. pl. trump·er·ies
1. Showy but worthless finery; bric-a-brac.
2. Nonsense; rubbish.
3. Deception; trickery; fraud.
— The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
For the past four years — maybe five — I’ve been reading the above-mentioned dictionary, word by word. I’m three-quarters of the way through “T.” With just “U,” “V,” “W,” “X,” “Y” and “Z” to go — which combined don’t have as many words as “S” — I’m closing in. It’s been an interesting trip. This week, just over a year into the second term of Donnie Boy as president — in which he still ain’t very presidential — I came upon the word “trumpery,” which seems to me a serendipitously and incredibly accurate word.
Perhaps by spring — not that we really seem to be having winter — I will have completed my journey through late 20th-century English. Some modern definitions are missing from the ’96 AHD edition; not omissions, but words and meanings that have been added in the past 30 years; “internet,” for instance. The AHD goes right from “internee” to “interneuron.” “Google” was neither a noun nor a verb. “Spam” was just a canned meat product. And there’s no mention of “Trump,” with a capital “T” at all.
Ah, the good old days.
The internet was invented before the ’96 AHD was released — sometime in the 1970s — but it hadn’t yet made the jump out of academia. By the time Y2K rolled around, though, we could panic online. AOL was a thing, and in the depths of Microsoft, Hotmail was being gestated.
Ah, the good old days, again.
Things have changed since my seven-pound, 2,140-page, God-knows-how-many-word dictionary was printed, including the definition of “trumpery,” although the basic meaning remains.
Trumpery
1. Attractive articles of little value or use.
2. Practices or beliefs that are superficially or visually appealing but have little real value or worth.
3. Showy but worthless: trumpery jewelry.
4. Delusive or shallow.
— New Oxford American Dictionary
For the second adjective definition, The New Oxford uses this example: “That trumpery hope which lets us dupe ourselves.” The 2024 Presidential election comes to mind, and this old saw: “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”
I’m impressed with the prescience of those long-ago Middle English linguists who anglicized “tromperie.” How could they have known how appropriate the word would become? And that’s all I have to say about that. For now, at least.
The Seahawks beat the Rams on Jan. 25. I’m happy to take the 4-point win, but LA is kinda lucky it wasn’t 18. If that kid (I say “kid” because he’s maybe 22 and I can’t remember his name or jersey number) hadn’t been called for taunting on fourth down, the spread would have been wider.
[Editor’s note: 26-year-old Seattle Cornerback Riq Woolen incurred the penalty. He wears No. 27.]
I watched the game in a brew pub with the sound off. In that situation, the visual becomes important, and what unfolded on the Seattle sideline after the taunting call was interesting. First, the kid’s peers got in his face. Then a coach got in his face. He now seemed somewhat ashamed.
Another coach (there are so many nowadays) came and talked to him, and by the expressions on their faces, it seemed conciliatory.
Maybe the coach said, “Hey, we all make mistakes; just remember what it cost. You’ll be fine.”
The kid listens. He nods. Soon, he’s standing back with the other players. It’s over. Thankfully (if you’re a Hawks fan), it didn’t cost the game — but it could have. Then how would that kid feel? When the game was over, he came across the field and said something to the LA coach. Maybe he was apologizing. I’d like to think so.
“We all make mistakes,” he might have said.
True that, and contrition is painful. Still, what I think I saw expressed on the sidelines was the process of condemnation, denial, acceptance, compassion, repentance, forgiveness and redemption.
Maybe we can climb out of trumpery via that same route.
Go, Hawks!
Sandy Compton, when not watching football, is working on yet another book, Growing Up Wild: A Family in Several Acts. It is the prequel/sequel/interquel to Alex’s Restaurant, available at Sandpoint Books, the Ledger office in Thompson Falls, and online at bluecreekpress.com or amazon.com.
