Word: verbalism
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...told of verbal attacks, threatening letters, and a bomb that was once placed in her mailbox...
...ranting is a form of verbal fanaticism, and other cultures often do it better. The Middle East today is to ranting what Elizabethan England was to theater: the cradle of geniuses. Every faction and tribe has its Shakespeare of denunciation, from the Ayatullah on down. Communist bloc countries have bureaucratically institutionalized ranting. The East German government once issued a list of approved terms of abuse for speakers describing the British: "paralytic sycophants, effete betrayers of humanity, carrion-eating servile imitators...
...could such a pleasant person write a drama that is at once so unpleasant and annoying, yet so provocative that half of New York seems to be waiting to get into the Public Theater? The answer is that, like many moralists with a pen, Shawn has set off a verbal time bomb, mostly in a series of monologues in which his characters rationalize all sorts of evils, including Hitler's atrocities. "I'm a rather amiable person," he says, "but I believe that our society is not just a little bit sick, but very, very, very sick. That...
...crisis began early in the week when Israeli Minister for Industry and Trade Ariel Sharon publicly accused Prime Minister Shimon Peres of "unparalleled cynicism" in his handling of secret Middle East peace negotiations. Two days later Peres struck back. His ultimatum: Sharon would either have to apologize for the verbal assault or face dismissal, a move that would almost certainly dissolve the coalition government and probably force new elections. Sharon testily countered by offering up a brief "apology." Enraged, Peres dismissed the gesture as inadequate and insincere. He demanded that Sharon apologize for six specific accusations he had made...
...1990s, when Jackie Chan and Jet Li were the hot international news out of Hong Kong, another actor was the colony's No. 1 box-office draw. Stephen Chow's raucous comedies tickled the locals no end, but since his humor was largely verbal (a nonsense patter known as "mo-lei-tau"), few were betting that he could become a star in the West. Chow took the bet and made two action comedies--Shaolin Soccer (2001) and Kung Fu Hustle (2004)--that were huge pan-Asian hits and proved him an expert director as well as an engaging joker. With...