Anthony Scaramucci is the new White House communications director who spoke confidently during a press briefing on Friday, then blew a kiss to reporters.
Scaramucci is not “scaramouch,” a word defined in Merriam-Wesbter as the name of a boastful and cowardly character from the Italian commedia dell’arte. He is often depicted as a clown.
After Scaramucci, a former hedge fund executive, made his White House debut, the dictionary reported that lookups for the word “scaramouch,” which bears an uncanny resemblance to his name, spiked more than 8,000 percent on Friday.
Coincidence? Yes. Hilarious? Also yes.
Scaramouch, sometimes spelled scaramouche, comes from the Italian word “scaramuccia” which means “skirmish” or “minor fight,” according to Merriam-Webster. Scaramouch was portrayed in the improvised Italian comedy as a “unscrupulous servant” who would often get beaten with a wooden sword by a harlequin.
Scaramouch was also made famous by one of Queen’s most catchy songs “Bohemian Rhapsody”: “Scaramouche! Scaramouche! Will you do the fandango?”
Though Scaramucci was smooth-talking and confident during the press briefing on Friday, people couldn’t help but point out his namesake’s character flaws.
Some people even attached the definition of scaramouch to President Donald Trump and the outgoing White House press secretary Sean Spicer.
Only time will tell if Scaramucci can live up to the word his name resembles. And if Friday’s goodbye kiss is any indication, it certainly looks like he will.
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