Word: arguer
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...hundreds trying to rescue it." His 6ft.4in. frame nurtured a majestic scorn, whose clipped syllables instantly evoked centuries of institutionalized English sarcasm and sadism in the form of teachers and civil servants. He could apply this furious condescension to petty bureaucrats, a cheese or parrot shop customer, a professional arguer - almost anybody...
Before it became the modern label for an ardent arguer, the devil's advocate was an esteemed position within the Catholic hierarchy. These trained skeptics were dispatched by the Vatican to assess candidates for sainthood. They interviewed witnesses, evaluated miracles and analyzed evidence; occasionally they helped build a case for canonization, but more often they dismantled...