This week's theme: words related to pirates.

filibuster (FIL-uh-bus-tuhr) verb tr., intr.

   1. To block or delay the passage of legislation, especially by making
      prolonged irrelevant speeches.

   2. To block or delay something.

noun

   Such a delaying tactic.

[Filibuster was another name for pirates in the "Golden Age of Piracy",
from roughly 1650 to 1720. From Spanish filibustero, from French flibustier,
from Dutch vrijbuiter (freebooter or pirate).]

Today's word in Visual Thesaurus: http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=filibuster

-Guest Wordsmith John (Ol' Chumbucket) Baur (chumbucketATtalklikeapirate.com)

  "Anyway, [the megaphone] came in handy. For while the public address
   system filibustered, Mortlake filled in."
   Geoffrey Mortlake; Megaphone Diplomacy Helps Crowd But Baffles Tony;
   The Observer (London, UK); Aug 27, 2006.

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Pronunciation:
http://wordsmith.org/words/filibuster.wav
http://wordsmith.org/words/filibuster.ram

Permalink: http://wordsmith.org/words/filibuster.html

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