Gaslighting
This week Merriam Webster announced its “Word of the Year.” Some of the runners up included Omicron… Oligarch…. and Queen Consort - the title given to the wife of King Charles. But to decide the word of the year… the dictionary publishing company… looked at all the look-ups…for the word that was searched the most and saw the biggest sustaining surge in interest… for the word….. [drumroll]
Gaslighting
Accepting the award on behalf of gaslighting… Jeff Caplan.
Thank you. Gaslighting is more or less another word for lying. But more than that… it represents psycological manipulation. The Political Dictionary says to gaslight someone you sow the seeds of doubt with misinformation til they question their own sanity.
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The word actually comes from a move in 1944… called Gaslight. The evil husband swipes his beautiful wife's jewelry and convinces her she’s forgetful. He even gets her to believe that she’s a kelptomaniac.
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In the movie… the husband does something mysterious in the attic that makes all the gaslights dim… but he convinces his beleaguered wife she’s imaginging it… we get “gaslighting.” Since that movie’s released The term “Gaslighting has been around nearly 80 years… just waiting for 2022.