Oh, the hypocracy!
What is this word "hypocracy," and why do see it so much?
Whenever I come across this strange combination of letters, my brain stops working for a second. I keep thinking along these lines:
"Democracy" = rule by the people
"Plutocracy" = rule by the rich
"Hypocracy" = rule by... hypos?
I kept thinking this, but never could figure out what the "hypos" were supposed to be. (I suppose you could interpret it as "rule by the under," but that doesn't make any sense.) Well, after seeing this word so many times, my brain has decided to form a mental image using the closest substitute it could think of: Rule by hippos.
Yes, whenever I see some would-be pundit whining about the "hypocracy" of their least-favorite political or religious group, my mind conjures up images of a Congress of hippopotamuses (*) ruling over society, and also the ghost scenes from Hamlet, but with the king's ghost replaced by a hippo. Sometimes I think of the little plastic ones from that kids' game Hungry Hungry Hippos with crowns on their heads. This is all very amusing to me, but as you might guess, after these images pop into my head, I have trouble taking the aforementioned pundit seriously anymore.
Do yourself a favor -- if you complain a lot, at least learn how to spell the important words you use. Start with H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-S-Y.
* Yes, hippopotamuses. Repeat after me, class:
hippopotamuses
rhinoceroses
octopuses
Help stamp out spurious classical plurals. They make you sound silly.
Whenever I come across this strange combination of letters, my brain stops working for a second. I keep thinking along these lines:
"Democracy" = rule by the people
"Plutocracy" = rule by the rich
"Hypocracy" = rule by... hypos?
I kept thinking this, but never could figure out what the "hypos" were supposed to be. (I suppose you could interpret it as "rule by the under," but that doesn't make any sense.) Well, after seeing this word so many times, my brain has decided to form a mental image using the closest substitute it could think of: Rule by hippos.
Yes, whenever I see some would-be pundit whining about the "hypocracy" of their least-favorite political or religious group, my mind conjures up images of a Congress of hippopotamuses (*) ruling over society, and also the ghost scenes from Hamlet, but with the king's ghost replaced by a hippo. Sometimes I think of the little plastic ones from that kids' game Hungry Hungry Hippos with crowns on their heads. This is all very amusing to me, but as you might guess, after these images pop into my head, I have trouble taking the aforementioned pundit seriously anymore.
Do yourself a favor -- if you complain a lot, at least learn how to spell the important words you use. Start with H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-S-Y.
* Yes, hippopotamuses. Repeat after me, class:
hippopotamuses
rhinoceroses
octopuses
Help stamp out spurious classical plurals. They make you sound silly.