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Lugus
What does "viscous" mean when describing a journalist
The sentence is "Lee Mortimer who was probably one of the most viscous men in the media in the world said that....."
Many thanks.Many thanks to dear Jura. I also wonder whether it should be "vicious".
I'm reading a docu script about Frank Sinatra. This whole sentence is:
"FRANK SINATRA: (Archive) I was accused of bringing to Cuba with me a small attaché case which in fact held sketching pads, crayons and such and Lee Mortimer who was probably one of the most viscous men in the media in the world said that I went to Cuba with 2 million dollars in an attaché case and what I said was if you can fit it in the case I’ll give you the 2 million dollars."
Aug 3, 2009 8:28 AM
Answers · 5
Definitely you mean 'vicious'.
Just saying that the journalist was cruel and 'attacking' him through the media,
;D
August 3, 2009
Here, I think Sinatra meant that Mortimer (a long-time enemy of his) was "tacky" (an idiom that means uneducated and with little class, but literally means "sticky") and that he was tenaciously annoying (once he latched onto you, he "stuck" on you forever).
August 3, 2009
Hello Lugus,
Viscosity is a physics term used to describe fluids, and it means 'resistance to change in flow.' A viscous person will tend to talk at length and they won't want to change the subject until they are through with it.
A viscous journalist will write almost compulsively at times flowing between forms.
August 3, 2009
I think you meant 'vicious'. You need to write the whole sentence and spell your words correctly, otherwise they mean something entirely different.
Lee Mortimer wrote scathingly about Frank Sinatra and his type of journalism was often described as 'gutter journalism' , a type of writing that viciously attacked others.
August 3, 2009
Are you sure that you mean viscous?
viscous - having a relatively high resistance to flow
syrupy
thick - relatively dense in consistency; "thick cream"; "thick soup"; "thick smoke"; "thick fog"
2. viscousviscous - having the sticky properties of an adhesive
gluey, glutinous, gummy, mucilaginous, sticky, viscid, pasty
adhesive - tending to adhere
August 3, 2009
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Lugus
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), English
Learning Language
English
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