Right out of nowhere, someone used the word "quisling" the other day, which might have sent some readers to their Funkin' Wagnalls dictionary to see what it means.
Ok, full disclosure, the someone was I, and full explanation, a quisling is a word used for someone we who betrays their country and their fellow citizens. The eponym salutes, or, more appropriately, damns, the name of the leader of Norway in World War II, Vidkun Quisling, who collaborated with the Nazis even as his country fought them.
Funny thing about eponyms, which is what we call it when a name becomes a noun. Sometimes it just fits! Imagine if the guy who invented a tool for loosening nuts was named Harry Wrench! Or if the first person ever to heap lettuce, tomatoes, and whatnot was Susan Salad!
That's how life works. Some words are just ugly-sounding ..."cancer"..."agony"..."school shooting"..."quisling."
It's also remarkable when an ugly soul has an ugly name.
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| A quisling if ever there was one. |
2 comments:
I can think of another “leader” to whom that name should be applied.
Yes. Being a Norwegian, Quisling is a weird name for a last Norwegian name!
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