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Tibetan Situation Getting Sticky

By Maeve

I was startled to read the following in an article by Associated Press writer Christopher Bodeen:

But China has angrily rejected all calls for dialogue, and Tibet’s hardline Communist Party chief [Zhang Qingli ] was quoted Wednesday in a particularly viscous attack on the Dalai Lama

The quotation left me picturing His Holiness covered with something like tar, awaiting the application of feathers.

Bodeen probably meant vicious.

vicious - bad, villainous, reprehensible, mean, depraved, noxious, savage
Vicious comes from the Latin word Latin vitiosus, meaning ” full of faults, bad, corrupt.”

The word viscous, on the other hand, comes from a Latin word viscosus, meaning “full of birdlime.”

viscous - viscid, gelatinous, gluey, sticky.

Syrup is viscous. Oil is viscous. (No oil in Tibet.)

While we’re at it, birdlime is a sticky substance smeared on a surface with the intention of catching birds. It was usually made of holly bark, but mashed up mistletoe berries work.

The lime in birdlime comes from a Latin verb meaning “to smear.”

The Bodeen article goes on to say that the Chinese government regularly insults the Dalai Lama as a matter of policy:

Critics say China fuels such anger [as provoked the recent demonstrations] through harsh restrictions on Tibetan culture and Buddhism ? including routine vilification of the Dalai Lama, who is deeply revered by most Tibetans.

Which brings us to another V word.

villification - The action of vilifying by means of abusive language.

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Full post as published by Daily Writing Tips on March 24, 2008 (boomark / email).