Word of the Day – Canard

• Noun: Canard
  1.  false or unfounded report or story especially a fabricated report: The report about a conspiracy proved to be a canard.
  2. a groundless rumor or belief:  The widespread canard that every lawyer is dishonest
  3. an airplane with horizontal stabilizing and control surfaces in front of supporting surfaces also : a small airfoil in front of the wing of an aircraft that can increase the aircraft’s performance
• Synonyms:
  1.   hoax
  2. exaggeration
  3. fabrication
  4. fib
  5. rumor
  6. spoof
  7. swindle
• Usage:
  1. “In London that night poor Henderson’s telegram describing the gradual unscrewing of the shot was judged to be a canard, and his evening paper, after wiring for authentication from him and receiving no reply—the man was killed—decided not to print a special edition. .”
• Encountered:
  1. While rereading H. G. Wells, The War of the Worlds
     

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Just as an aside:  I read most of the more popular H. G. Wells stories as a teenager. At that time they were essentially science fiction for me.  I’ve spent the last few days rereading 6 of his novels.  This time around, yes – they are science fiction, but they can be read as social commentary also.  For instances, in this novel, a large portion of it was allotted to how quickly society broke under extraordinary pressure, and how badly many people behaved. Add in there a willingness of many people to play ostrich and ignore what is in front of their eyes.