Word: explainer
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Kirkpatrick had been the guest of honor at a dinner hosted by Argentine Ambassador Takacs, an extraordinary accident of timing by the Argentines, if it was an accident. With Kirkpatrick at the function was Deputy Secretary of State Walter J. Stoessel, the highest-ranking U.S. career diplomat. Trying to explain the embarrassment, the State Department said only that the affair had been scheduled long before the invasion. British Ambassador Henderson noted the attendance of Kirkpatrick and Stoessel at the dinner and declared sarcastically: "We are not thrilled...
...also talked about how his mental training in martial arts has helped him explain a lot in his life...
...walked further into the area, two Australian soldiers wearing camouflage paint on their faces burst out of the bushes and ordered us at gunpoint to get down on the ground. One of the soldiers, corporal Simon Zapelli, said he was detaining us "for your own safety" but declined to explain why locals were allowed to continue through the village if it was so dangerous. After three hours the soldiers released us, with one observing that there had been "some dangerous types in the area." When asked to elaborate, he said: "You're pissing in the wind there, buddy." Then...
Pundits make similar mistakes when they're trying to explain non-presidential elections. Why do voters ticket-split, choosing a President from one party and a Representative or Senator from another? Perhaps it's a clever way to preserve the creative tension of divided government, check the excesses of any one party and send a veiled warning to everyone in Washington that it's time for a little bipartisanship. Or perhaps people simply choose the candidates they like. Campaign managers overthink things too. Consider the time wasted in war rooms parsing the molecular difference between, say, "Ready for Change...
...Once, in a tiny eatery on Roat?n Island, Honduras, the young boy who came out to take my order was wearing a T-shirt from my hometown - a purple Wellesley softball shirt that looked identical to the one my family had recently donated to charity. Excitedly, I tried to explain to him in broken Spanish that he was wearing my sister's shirt, which he interpreted as an accusation that he had stolen it. The boy profusely denied my allegations, and when he reappeared with my fried chicken, he was wearing a different shirt to deter any further conversation...