Vetting the Candidates

donkey elephant“Has she been thoroughly vetted?” they ask. It’s an apt question. But do they know what the word actually means?

According to Evan Morris, The Word Detective: “It’s just a shortening of veterinarian, a doctor who cares for animals (from the Latinvet clinic veterinae, cattle, which constituted the bulk of early veterinarians’ patients). The original meaning of vet used as a verb was ‘to examine an animal (e.g., a racehorse before a race) thoroughly.’ The check out the candidate’s past sense first appeared in print in 1904.”

Donkeys. Elephants. Politicians. Such sweet irony…

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Language, Politics

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