razzmatazz

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The Word of the Day for July 7 is:

razzmatazz   \raz-muh-TAZ\   noun 
   *1 : a confusing or colorful often gaudy action or display : razzle-dazzle 
     2 : inflated, involved, and often deliberately ambiguous language : double-talk 
     3 : vim, zing 

Example sentence: 
     It was a rally like any other, perhaps, but amidst all the flag-waving and razzmatazz, we detected a stronger than usual strain of genuine patriotic feeling. 

Did you know? 
     Before early forms of "razzmatazz" entered English, "razzle-dazzle" appeared on the scene, and long before "razzle-dazzle" there was simply "dazzle" (from "daze"). English speakers are fond of forming new words through reduplication of a base word, usually with just a slight change of sound. Think of "okey-dokey," "fuddy-duddy," "super-duper," "roly-poly," "fiddle-faddle," and "dilly-dally." A hundred or so years ago, the spirit that prompted "razzle-dazzle" seems to have also inspired "razzmatazz" shortly afterward. The coiners of "razzmatazz" may have had "jazz" in mind. Some of the earliest turn-of-the century uses of "razzmatazz" refer to rag-time or early jazz styles. By the 40s, we'd come round to the "razzle-dazzle" sense, though we still haven't completely settled on the spelling. You might, for example, see "razzamatazz." 

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.





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