pasquinade

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The Word of the Day for October 19 is:=20

pasquinade   \pass-kwuh-NAYD\   noun
     1 : a lampoon posted in a public place=20
    *2 : satirical writing : satire=20

Example sentence:
      The article, a pasquinade mocking the proposed education reform, g=
enerated a lot of mail from readers.

Did you know?
          In 1501, a marble statue from ancient times was unearthed in R=
ome and erected near that city's Piazza Navona. The statue depicted a ma=
le torso and was christened "Pasquino" by the Romans, perhaps after a lo=
cal shopkeeper. It became a tradition to dress up the statue on St. Mark=
=E2=80=99s Day, and in its honor, professors and students would write La=
tin verses that they would then post on it. Satires soon replaced these =
verses, and the Pasquino statue became a prime location for posting anon=
ymous, bitingly critical lampoons. In the mid-17th century, these postin=
gs became known in English as "pasquinades" (from the Italian =E2=80=9Cp=
asquinata=E2=80=9D). The term has since expanded in usage to refer to an=
y kind of satirical writing.





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