Shakespeare was the man. If he lived today, he would be busy on his next play thus titled (an excerpt from Macbeth). The bard of our times peeks out occasionally in the form of a playful Washington Post contributor: Alexandra Petri. I will put a copy of today's offering in my notice to loyal (and known to me) readers.
But I wish to share a fact check I performed on a word in the second paragraph of today's submission: the official definition of "benighted". Curiously it sounds like a description of those who have been knighted. But I suspected a sly use of this word, and was muchly rewarded.
(From Bing!)
benighted
ADJECTIVE
- in a state of pitiful or contemptible intellectual or moral ignorance, typically owing to a lack of opportunity*.
synonyms:
ignorant · unenlightened · uneducated etc.
- overtaken by darkness.
"a storm developed and we were forced to wait benighted near the summit"
*Typically, but not in this case at all. The ample opportunity to cure ignorance was overwhelmed by self interest, and /or pure cravenness and America was absolutely overtaken by darkness.