Muckrake - Word of the Day

[Merriam-Webster] WORD OF THE DAY [December 4, 2016] muckrake [Audio pronunciation] verb | MUCK-rayk Definition : to search out and publicly expose real or apparent misconduct of a prominent individual or business Scroll down for more about muckrake WORD GAMES AND QUIZZES: WEEKLY CHALLENGE [Difficult Spelling Words II] 15 more tricky words to spell. [PLAY NOW] Nailed this quiz? We have plenty more to try! [TAKE ME THERE [>]] Plus: [SEE WHAT LOOKUPS ARE TRENDING NOW! [>]] Did You Know? The noun muckrake (literally, a rake for [muck], i.e., manure) rose out of the dung heap and into the realm of literary metaphor in 1684. That's when John Bunyan used it in Pilgrim's Progress to represent man's preoccupation with earthly things. "The Man with the Muckrake," he wrote, "could look no way but downward." In a 1906 speech, President Teddy Roosevelt recalled Bunyan's words while railing against journalists he thought focused too much on exposing corruption in business and government. Roosevelt called them "the men with the muck-rakes" and implied that they needed to learn "when to stop raking the muck, and to look upward." Investigative reporters weren't insulted; they adopted the term muckraker as a badge of honor. And soon English speakers were using the verb muckrake for the practice of exposing misconduct. Examples of MUCKRAKE Arn is an aggressive reporter, never afraid to ask difficult questions, hound evasive sources, or muckrake when things appear suspect. "From his groundbreaking days of editing the iconic liberal magazines Ramparts and Scanlan's Monthly in the 1960s and '70s to his reliably irreverent columns for newspapers …, Mr. [Warren] Hinckle delighted in tweaking anyone in charge of anything and muckraking for what he fiercely saw as the common good." — Kevin Fagan, The San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Aug. 2016 Test Your Vocabulary Fill in the blanks to create a verb meaning "to expose to shame or blame by means of falsehood or misrepresentation": _ ra _ u _ e. [VIEW THE ANSWER [>]] ASK THE EDITOR How to Use the Subjunctive in English If I were you, I'd watch this. [WATCH OUR VIDEO NOW [>]] MORE WORD FUN: [WORD GAMES [>]] [TRENDING NOW [>]] [WORDS AT PLAY [>]] FOLLOW US: [Facebook] [Twitter] [YouTube] [Instagram] [Pinterest] SHARE: [Facebook][Facebook] [Twitter][Twitter] [View this email in a web browser] You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive the Merriam-Webster Word of the Day. [Unsubscribe from Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day] [Manage your subscription settings] Merriam-Webster, Inc. 47 Federal Street P.O. Box 281 Springfield, MA 01102 [www.merriam-webster.com]