In the car en route to my speaking engagement (doesn't that sound grand?) I was listening to Jeeves and Wooster on the radio and Bertie used the term imbroglio.
The only time I have heard the word used in recent years (okay, not that recent) is in relation to Natalie, and she probably spells it differently. In fact I wasn't sure how to spell it but I made an educated guess and was able to look it up in the dictionary.
A confused mass or perplexing situation. It's a wonder I'm not more familiar with it as Bertie Wooster's life is one large imbroglio.
I shall have to try to use it in conversation, maybe saying, 'Brexit's a right imbroglio, isn't it?'
Apparently it can also be embroglio, from the Italian, meaning confusion.
3 comments:
You're right -- it's time for a revival of "imbroglio"!
My mini thesaurus just gives embroil which isn't overused these days, either. A pity really; it sounds more refined than some of the expressions one hears now.
More and more so, Debra.
Many lovely words that should never have dropped out of use, Sonata.
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