HEMPSTEAD, New York — As presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton traded barbs, viewers headed to the dictionary to look up headscratching words like “braggadocious.”
Here are several key words that spiked in searches on Merriam-Webster’s site during Monday night’s debate:
‘She doesn’t have the stamina’
Stamina means “great physical or mental strength that allows you to continue doing something for a long time,” according to Merriam-Webster.
Trump repeated this word five times during the debate to reiterate his view that Clinton doesn’t have what it takes to be president.
Trump said: “She doesn’t have the look. She doesn’t have the stamina. I said she doesn’t have the stamina. And I don’t believe she does have the stamina. To be president of this country, you need tremendous stamina.”
Clinton replied: “Well, as soon as he travels to 112 countries and negotiates a peace deal, a cease-fire, a release of dissidents, an opening of new opportunities in nations around the world, or even spends 11 hours testifying in front of a congressional committee, he can talk to me about stamina.”
‘I have a winning temperament’
Temperament means the usual attitude, mood, or behavior of a person.
Searches for this term increased 78 times over Merriam-Webster’s hourly average. Trump repeated this word five times during the debate, saying, “I think my strongest asset by far is my temperament. I have a winning temperament.”
Clinton countered that Trump did not have “the right temperament to be commander-in- chief.”
‘Not in a braggadocious way’
Braggadocio, a noun, means “the annoying or exaggerated talk of someone who is trying to sound very proud or brave.” The plural form is braggadocios.
Trump said “braggadocious” — ensuring that no one had this rare word on their bingo card.
“I have a great company,” Trump said. “I have a tremendous income. And the reason I say that is not in a braggadocious way. It’s because it’s about time that this country had somebody running it that has an idea about money.
‘Trumped-up trickle-down’
Trumped-up, an adjective, means deliberately done or created to make someone appear to be guilty of a crime, according to Merriam-Webster.
Clinton used this word twice during the debate, as an obvious pun on Trump’s name, questioning his economics plan.
“I call it trumped-up trickle-down, because that’s exactly what it would be. That is not how we grow the economy.”
This term spiked during the debate, but did not stay trending.
‘Cavalier attitude about nuclear weapons’
Cavalier, means having or showing no concern for something that is important or serious. Both candidates used this adjective to characterize each others foreign policy chops.
“His cavalier attitude about nuclear weapons is so deeply troubling,” Clinton said.
The word stayed as top 1% of look-ups on Merriam-Webster..
Trump struck back on Clinton’s foreign policy record saying, “She’s very cavalier in the way she talks about various countries.”
