With the passage of time, touché began to be used in everyday contexts. He was admitting the opponent's sword had indeed ‘touched' him. when one person managed to thrust his sword into his opponent), the person who had been hit acknowledged it by shouting touché. In this sport, two individuals fought each other with swords, and whenever someone scored a ‘hit' (i.e. When touché was borrowed into English, it was used in the context of a particular sport - fencing. The word is pronounced ‘two-SHAY' with the stress on the second syllable. The following ‘ch' sounds like the ‘sh' in ‘ship', ‘shin' and ‘sheep', and the final ‘e' is like the ‘ay' in ‘bay', ‘day' and ‘may'. Obama, Boehner, Clinton and McConnell, try to work touché a little bit more into your vocabulary.The ‘tou' in the first syllable is pronounced like the word ‘two'. The United States was built on compromise, and the astounding inability of contemporary politicians to give even an ounce of effort into working with the other side, be it Democrat or Republican, is staggering. In a time when political differences means complete and utter gridlock in Washington, the ability to cede ground is invaluable. This idea doesn’t just apply to novel arguments like which Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle is the best (obviously Leonardo), but politicians especially could learn a few things from touché. When someone says touché, they are signifying that their opponent has made a good point, something that they didn’t think of. If that happens, the argument can’t move on. What does touché do to this idea of enlightened debate? One of the most important aspects of a discussion is being able to admit when you’re wrong. The true socratic method is a type of discussion that heavily focuses on questioning “the other side” to stimulate critical thinking and to actually get somewhere in the conversation, to learn something new and to gain a new perspective. Most students associate with sitting in a large circle in their classroom trying to get a word in the discussion but someone louder than you always seems triumph over you. I propose the socratic method of discussion and debate. The “winner” got a chance to stroke their ego, and the “loser” feels dumb. What does this sort of debate achieve? Absolutely nothing. What is a debate? Common convention dictates that a debate is when two people who are on opposite sides of a viewpoint try to outmaneuver one another until they feel that they have proved their point. I know that sounds silly, but hear me out. When two opposing viewpoints meet, it should be a collaboration. Why is this word so beautiful? This word is the culmination of everything a debate is supposed to be.Īll too often, arguments turn into heated shouting matches where whoever is louder “wins.” That is not what a debate should be. In an argument, touché means that you’re admitting that they made a good point, or when someone has made a good comeback. When you hit your opponent in fencing, they say touché to signify a point against them. Or is it French? Well it doesn’t matter, what’s important is the word itself. Touché is the most beautiful word in the English language.
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