In the early 16th century, the word bully was a term of endearment, probably stemming from Dutch boel, meaning “lover.” Shakespeare used bully to mean “a fine fellow” or “good chap.” When President Theodore Roosevelt referred to the presidency as a...
stained-glass ceiling n.— «The Rev. Barbara Williams Riddle knows all about the stained-glass ceiling the psychological barrier that keeps women from the pulpit of large, upscale congregations.» —“The stained-glass ceiling” by Mark I. Pinsky in...
sermo-mercial n.— «Church pastors have won trips to London and $1000 by mentioning Disney’s film The Chronicles of Narnia in their sermons. That contest staged by a Christian marketing firm has coined the term “sermo-mercial” as the pulpit becomes...
spinksterinkdum Negro n.— «At Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala., where King took over the pulpit in 1954, his brilliant predecessor Vernon Johns had often taken his complacent congregation to task for being too conservative and...
new shooter n.— «It was a new race over a new track, and there were several new shooters trying to knock him off. But none of Pulpit’s potential problems materialized. It was as if divine intervention was bestowed upon the colt, who resurrected his...
bleeding deacon n.— «The term Bleeding Deacon is a corruption of an old New England term from the 18th or 19th century. The original term was Bleating Deacon, evoking a farmer’s image of an old goat in the pulpit.» —“Re: Former RC/Padre_Andre vs...
