Donald Trump surrogate Scottie Nell Hughes went viral Monday when she confused a molotov cocktail with the Hebrew translation of congratulations and/or good luck. Watch as Hughes, also the political editor for RightAlerts.com, says “mazel tov cocktail” on CNN when she clearly meant to say molotov cocktail, a homemade incendiary device you can create in a bottle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQtWc6Uy8E0
Hey, that kind of word misidentification happens on live TV. Yes, the two phrases are diametrically opposed, but hey, we’ll give her a pass. But you can’t say the same thing for Merriam-Webster’s Twitter account, which did not let Hughes’s mistake slip by.
No, we have no idea what a “mazel tov cocktail” is.
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) November 7, 2016
That’s a painful molotov cocktail burn. But it’s not out of character for Merriam-Webster, which is clearly ready for this 2016 election to be finished.
Happy Monday. This election is almost over. https://t.co/Nu5GzzDoMg
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) November 7, 2016
We’ve updated our Twitter header in honor of the election. pic.twitter.com/mOFT8sUlVD
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) November 7, 2016
‘Heartsease’ just wasn’t cutting it anymore. @tiva1000 pic.twitter.com/5GgKihD1DP
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) November 7, 2016
Good morning! The #WordOfTheDay is mollify. https://t.co/uYfqTMIWYa
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) November 6, 2016
And Peter Sokolowski, a lexicographer for Merriam-Webster, hasn’t been shy about tweeting the most apt words of this election.
Calm before the storm: lookups @MerriamWebster, in order: fascism, socialism, diversity, democracy, bigot, love, nationalism, mitigate…
— Peter Sokolowski (@PeterSokolowski) November 7, 2016
…autonomy, racism, republican, liberal, respect, demagogue, forewarn, ethic, empathy, vehement, surrogacy, miserable, inexorable, vote.
— Peter Sokolowski (@PeterSokolowski) November 7, 2016
All in all, a clever bit of social media play by Merriam-Webster. It deserves a hearty molotov for a job well done.
