Pages

Wednesday 11 April 2012

Entry: scopophobic (adj.)


In context: "Unwittingly all but authoring the Union designed to afford the scopophobic empathic fellowship and the genesis of sturdy inner resources through shame-free and unconstrained concealment, W. Churchill - when the lady, no person's doormat, informed him with prim asperity that he appeared to be woefully inebriated, he would the following A.M. be once again sober, while she, dear lady, would tomorrow still be hideously and improbably deformed.

Definition: Scopophobia or scoptophobia (from Greek σκοπέω - skopeō, "look to, examine"[1] and φόβος - phobos, "fear"[2]) is an anxiety disorder characterized by a morbid fear of being seen or stared at by others.[3] It is related to Ophthalmophobia (from Greek ὀφθαλμός- ophthalmos, "eye"[4]).


Other: There are dozens of minor variations on that anecdote.  Churchill was speaking to Bessie Braddock, a British socialist politician.  She seems to have been an interesting person, and while Churchill was perhaps too cruel, Bessie Braddock wasn't the best looking person around.

SNOOT score: 3

Page:226
 
Source: Wikipedia

No comments:

Post a Comment