Dictionary.com Word Of The Day
Mar. 02, 2017
crocodilian\krok-uh-DIL-ee-uh n\adjective
1. hypocritical; insincere.
2. of, like, or pertaining to a crocodile.
QuotesThe crocodilian concern with the lower classes and their subsidy
of middle-class students (who are fighting to extend such subsidies to
lower-class children) is authentic "old-time" common sense at the
zenith of coherence.
-- Marvin Harris, "Campus Confusion: To the Editor," New York Times,
January 5, 1969
Origin of crocodilianCrocodilian can mean "hypocritical, insincere."
The insincerity of crocodiles has been noted since ancient times and is
also reflected in the term "crocodile tears" (crocodiles supposedly
weep for the victims they are eating). Crocodile tears are mentioned in
a collection of ancient Greek proverbs attributed to Plutarch (a.d.
c46c120). The proverbs compare the crocodiles behavior to that of
people who desire or cause the misfortune or death of others but
afterward publicly mourn them. Crocodilian entered English in the 17th
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