BREAKING: Bush (nearly) learns definition of "foment"

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Tuesday November 28, 2006 · 9:13 AM PST

2006/11/28 · 09:13

U.S. President George W. Bush this morning displayed the most recent addition to his already vast vocabulary, a transitive verb, "foment."

Webster's dictionary defines Foment as follows:

fo‧ment [foʊˈmɛnt]:

to instigate or foster (discord, rebellion, etc.); promote the growth or development of: to foment trouble; to foment discontent.

to apply warm water or medicated liquid, ointments, etc., to (the surface of the body).

The word appeared at least twice in the President's remarks in Estonia this morning:

“There’s a lot of sectarian violence taking place, fomented, in my opinion, because of the attacks by Al Qaeda, causing people to seek reprisal,” Mr. Bush said, adding that he planned to work with Mr. Maliki “to defeat these elements.”

Referring to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Al Qaeda leader in Iraq who was killed by American forces over the summer, he added, “The plan of Mr. Zarqawi was to foment sectarian violence.”

Some attending the press conference criticized the apparent misuse of the word shown above, claiming that "an event is fomented by something, not because of it."

Bush vocabulary spokesperson Marge Lepson had no comment.

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foment

peeance

freeance

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uh

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Favorite Bush Vocabulary Word?

foment

1%

1 vote

peeance

4%

5 votes

freeance

0%

0 votes

terr'ists

22 votes

septembertheeleventh

24 votes

uh

17 votes

er

5%

6 votes

heh-heh

55 votes

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