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Irascible: WordWednesdayFun

Irascible! Wow! That’s such a neat word. It’s a word that came to mind after my contretemps here with one of my readers. Maybe I should say one of my ex-readers 🙂 I believe he is also an expat. He, in my humble opinion, was trying to tell me what I should or should not write about on this blog! Yes, crazy I know. He seemed to take umbrage with me penning an article to do with Brexit.

He pointed out to me that this blog is called Expat in Bacolod. His reasoning appears to be that I should confine my musings to matters connected to Bacolod. That would exclude me from writing about many things of interest to me. Liverpool Football Club, sports in general, my Undercover book and many other topics.

I believe my responses were reasoned and rational. I don’t think I was guilty of irascibility. Noting the related words shown below, I was possibly passionate in defense of my stance. Maybe even touchy? Thin-skinned? No! One lesson I have learned about blogging and writing in general, is you are there to be shot at, hopefully in a metaphorical sense! If you write from the heart then you will undoubtedly at various times surprise, anger, annoy or shock someone.

Irascibility? Moi? Non! I confess to having a low tolerance for fools. Now, don’t get hurt sir if you happen to read that. I am talking in general, not about you. I have a low tolerance towards folks who had the opportunity of an education but failed to listen, failed to learn, failed to become inquisitive about the world and people. I have a low tolerance for ignorance. Ignorance is a product of lack of education.

I write these things not in an aggressive way and I am not deprecating any single individual simply on the basis that he or she is ignorant. Education and travel broaden the mind. They equip you better for this changed world we now inhabit. Education need not be formal. It need not stop at say 16 or 18 years of age. Most days I learn something new. I am nearly 70.

One of the main pillars of my stance on the disgusting racist antics of some Brits since the ‘leave vote,’ is that they are carried out by crude and ignorant people. There is an underclass  of such people in the UK. That is as much a failure of the state and the education system as the failure of these people to comprehend.

For me, it should have been made compulsory for every voter in that referendum to prove that they had read at least 3 books about the history of the European Union and why it came into being. I joke not! I say it again loud and clear – it is my opinion that many of the narrow majority in favor of ‘leave’ were driven by racist sentiments. Great Britain is now labelled Little Britain by some.

Irascible? Mnie? Nie!

Here we go and it’s off to Meriam-Webster

adjective iras·ci·ble \i-ˈra-sə-bəl\
Popularity: Top 20% of words
Simple Definition
: becoming angry very easily : having a bad temper

Full Definition
: marked by hot temper and easily provoked anger
irascibility play \-ˌra-sə-ˈbi-lə-tē\ noun
irascibleness play \i-ˈra-sə-bəl-nəs\ noun
irascibly play \-blē\ adverb

Examples in a sentence
an irascible old football coach
He has an irascible disposition.

Did You Know?
If you try to take apart “irascible” in the same manner as “irrational,” “irresistible,” or “irresponsible,” you might find yourself wondering what “ascible” means-but that’s not how “irascible” came to be. The key to the meaning of “irascible” isn’t the negative prefix ir- (which is used before words that begin with “r”), but the Latin noun ira, meaning “anger.” From “ira,” which is also the root of “irate” and “ire,” came the Latin verb irasci (“to become angry”), which led to French irascible. English speakers borrowed the word from French in the 16th century.

Origin and Etymology
Middle French, from Late Latin irascibilis, from Latin irasci to become angry, be angry, from ira

First Known Use: circa 1530

Related to irascible
Synonyms
choleric, crabby, cranky, cross, crotchety, fiery, grouchy, grumpy, irritable, peevish, perverse, pettish, petulant, prickly, quick-tempered, raspy, ratty, short-tempered, snappish, snappy, snarky, snippety, snippy, stuffy, testy, waspish
Related Words
bearish, bilious, cantankerous, cross-grained, curmudgeonly, disagreeable, dyspeptic, ill-humored, ill-natured, ill-tempered, off-color (or off-colored), ornery, querulous, snarly, surly; argumentative, bellicose, belligerent, combative, contentious, disputatious, fractious, fretful, pugnacious, quarrelsome, scrappy, truculent; huffy, pouty, sensitive, short, sulky, sullen, tetchy, thin-skinned, touchy; hot-blooded, passionate

And, now the Facebook comment left on the M-W page:

Gordon Strause · Neighborhood Operations at Nextdoor
Surprised at this definition. I think there is a positive connotation to irascible that is not captured here.
Like · Reply · Mar 5, 2015 10:50am

Uh! No Mr. Strause, I think you could be mistaken.

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5 Comments

  1. Gill James Gill James

    Yesterday I took delivery of a parcel for next door. A dark-skinned gentleman stood on our step. “My English isn’t all that good,” he said.
    “Oh where are you form?”
    “Germany.”
    Ah! Interesting. A DHL expert. Made sense. We continued in German. He’s from Pakistan. He looked a bit glum
    I assured him I’d voted Remain.
    What that minority doesn’t realise is that we’re now likely to have more Commonwealth immigrants and what the consequences of the French liftin security at Calais means.

    • Interesting story and topical. It is interesting what you say about Commonwealth immigrants. What the same minority fail to realise is that many immigrants who came to Britain from Pakistan arrived way before we were in the EU. The same minority you refer to also wantonly fail to understand that Britain needs immigrants for economic reasons. As I said in this post, I am afraid ignorance is to blame. Thank you for your insights. Troubled times ahead.

  2. G G

    Perhaps Mr Strause is thinking of:
    rascal (ˈrɑːskəl) n
    1. a disreputable person; villain
    2. a mischievous or impish rogue
    3. an affectionate or mildly reproving term for a child or old man: you little rascal; the wicked old rascal kissed her.
    4. obsolete a person of lowly birth
    adj (prenominal) obsolete
    a. belonging to the mob or rabble
    b. dishonest; knavish

    I know I thought of rascal at first.

    The world does appear to have gone OTT with Trump/NRA/Racism – UK what all – [Edit: Sorry G but my policy here is to stay out of Philippines politics] ….

    I don’t see any of the aforementioned as being rascals but hot tempered fits. My British ex wife once sat me down and told me to watch ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE. She said I was a Victor Meldrew. Like most Brits of her ilk she went about her life being “British”. Being me I told her Victor Meldrew is a normal guy fed up with bullshit. Victor was an honest, likeable and sympathetic character. Ultimately, He stood against yobbish behaviour, lack of consideration for others, shoddy service, and bureaucratic indifference. Everything that a caring normal person has the right to get angry about. And with what’s happening in todays world: “Well, I can’t bloody believe it there isn’t more of us!

    • I think you could be right about ‘rascal.’ Sorry for the censor scissors being produced. Victor Meldrew, I did like that character and the show.

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