Word of the Day

Wednesday December 23, 2009

farrago [fuh-RAH-go; fuh-RAY-go]

noun

Oscar Wilde described foxhunting as "the unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable". The farrago surrounding the British Grand Prix looks more like a case of the unspeakable in pursuit of the unfundable, following the failure of Donington Park's attempt to issue a 135m bond to pay for improvements ahead of next year's race.

Andrew Hill, "End of free banking must end poor service", FT.com, Oct 23, 2009
Beneath the farrago of euphemism about Polanski's 1970s-era crime (Whoopi Goldberg says it wasn't "rape-rape," even though he forced himself on a 13-year-old) and unconvincing sympathy-mongering (after he went on the lam in Europe decades ago, Washington Post columnist Anne Applebaum complains, "He could not return to Los Angeles to receive his recent Oscar"), there's one constant underlying plea: But he's an artist.

Rich Lowry, "Does excellence in art justify criminal act?", The Salt Lake Tribune, Oct 4, 2009
In fact, a room with four or five mirrors arranged at random, is, for all purposes of artistic show, a room of no shape at all. If we add to this evil, the attendant glitter upon glitter, we have a perfect farrago of discordant and displeasing effects.

Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849) An American writer, poet, and literary critic. The Works of Edgar Allan Poe Volume 5

Origin of the Word

Farrago, approximately 1632, derives from Latin farrago "medley, mix of grains for animal feed," from far "corn."