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Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 17:26:00 -0700 (PDT)
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Subject: A.Word.A.Day--fiasco
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fiasco (fee-AS-koh) noun

   A complete failure.

[French, from Italian fare fiasco, to make a bottle, fail, from fiasco,
bottle (translation of French bouteille, bottle, error, used by the French
for linguistic errors committed by Italian actors on the 18th-century
French stage), from Late Latin flasco.]

   "President Obasanjo has, at several fora been accused of having this
   unexplainable contempt for sports... One of the greatest tragedies this
   year for close watchers of the intrigues of sports in Nigeria would be
   for the president, after a possible disgraceful outing in Sydney repeats
   his statement of the post All Africa Games fiasco. Remember it? He said,
   blame me, not my minister."
   Click The Glasses? P.M. News - Nigeria, Jun 2, 2000.

This week's theme: words from the Italian language.

.............................................................................
Courage is the price that life extracts for granting peace. The soul that
knows it not, knows no release from little things. -Amelia Earhart, aviator
(1897-1937)

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Pronunciation:
http://wordsmith.org/words/fiasco.wav
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