About This Site

Figaro rips the innards out of things people say and reveals the rhetorical tricks and pratfalls. For terms and definitions, click here.
(What are figures of speech?)
Ask Figaro a question!

This form does not yet contain any fields.

    « "One Nation Under God (Except for the Blue States)" | Main | Five Reasons We Belong Together: Ooh, Ooh, Ooh, Ooh, Ooh »
    Monday
    Aug012005

    If Bill Had Great Interns, Then Hillary...

    hilary clinton.jpgQuote:  “Britain, where there remains far more overt sexism in public life, made Margaret Thatcher prime minister more than two decades ago.” Article in Slate, "But Why Can't Hillary Win?"

    Term:  a fortiori (ah for tee AR ee), the Mikey-likes-it! argument

    Remember the commercial for Life Cereal, the one where the brothers experiment on picky little Mikey?  If Mikey liked it, the boys figured, anyone would.  That's an argument a fortiori:  If something less likely is true, then something more likely will probably be true as well.

    Margaret Thatcher plays Mikey in Jacob Weisberg’s assertion in Slate that Hillary Clinton has a good shot at the White House.  Hey, Weisberg argues, if those soccer hooligans across the pond can elect a woman, surely our more advanced civilization can. 

      Snappy Answers:  

      1. "Who says those Limey fruits are more sexist than we are?"
      2. "Are you sure Maggie Thatcher was a woman?"

      PrintView Printer Friendly Version

      EmailEmail Article to Friend

      Reader Comments

      There are no comments for this journal entry. To create a new comment, use the form below.

      PostPost a New Comment

      Enter your information below to add a new comment.

      My response is on my own website »
      Author Email (optional):
      Author URL (optional):
      Post:
       
      All HTML will be escaped. Hyperlinks will be created for URLs automatically.