maudlin

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 15, 2023 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>maudlin</strong> &#149; \MAUD-lin\&nbsp; &#149; <em>adjective</em><br /> <p><em>Maudlin</em> describes someone or something that expresses sadness or sentimentality in an exaggerated way.</p> <p>// The class had a hard time taking the <em>maudlin</em> poetry seriously.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maudlin">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>“All seven musicians in the band complement each other so effortlessly that at times it’s like they all breathe together. The album is often dark, and in the hands of less skilled songwriters could be <em>maudlin</em> and self-indulgent, but I think you can hear just how much fun they have playing together.” — Rob McHugh, <em>The Guardian</em> (London), 3 Jan. 2023</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>The history of <em>maudlin</em> is connected both to the Bible and the barroom. The biblical <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Mary-Magdalene">Mary Magdalene</a> is often (though some say mistakenly) identified with the weeping sinner who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears to repent for her sins. This association led to the frequent depiction of Mary Magdalene as a weeping <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/penitent#h2">penitent</a>, and even the name <em>Magdalene</em> came to suggest teary emotion to many English speakers. It was then that <em>maudlin</em>, an alteration of <em>Magdalene</em>, appeared in the English phrase “maudlin drunk” in the 16th century, describing a weepy, drunken state. Nowadays, <em>maudlin</em> is used to describe someone or something that expresses sadness or sentimentality in an exaggerated way; however, the “maudlin drunk” meaning was so intoxicating that it stuck around and became the “drunk enough to be emotion