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Definition of Enormity

When Barack Obama intoned, “I do not underestimate the enormity of the task ahead,” some grammar sticklers recoiled. Pointing to the word’s roots, they insist that enormity means not “large,” but “out of the ordinary.” A caller who’s been following a heated online dispute about this word asks the hosts for a verdict. They give the president-elect a pass. This is part of a complete episode.

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