ambagious

Pronounced: am-BAY-juhs, adj

Notes: It looks like ambiguous misspelled

---

Yesterday’s word

The word scaramouch (can also be spelled scaramouche) is

• a cowardly buffoon
• rascal; scamp

First usage

Our word came into English in the mid-1600s

Background / Comments

People with a background in or knowledge of theater or pantomime may know our word — or at least probably know the term commedia dell’arte (Italian comedy). I was introduced to it through the writings of Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers; there are some references to the commedia dell’arte, and several references to Harlequin, one of the stock characters in the commedia dell’arte. Our word comes from another character in the commedia dell’arte called Scaramouch – he was often beaten by Harlequin because of his boasting or cowardice. Scaramouch actually came from the Italian word meaning “skirmish; a minor fight”. In the late 1600s, our word was used in a derogatory sense for a cowardly buffoon. It’s not heard very often these days, but I’m told that it is used in the relatively well-known rock song “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen. In addition, you can sound erudite by using it in the appropriate conversational place.