Malapropism or Freudian Slip?

“I do not underestimate the enormity of the task that lies ahead,” said President Obama in his acceptance speech in November. Then again, in his inaugural address at the Lincoln Memorial he said again, “Despite the enormity of the task that lies ahead I stand here today as hopeful as ever that the United States of America will endure.”

Ok, first things first, he didn’t say misunderestimate, I’ll grant you that, but why would the United States of America not endure?! But I digress, what I’m questioning is his use of the word enormity, and to be fair, only because it was brought to my attention that this word might not be exactly the word one might want to use in the context of the ginormousness of tackling job the of President of the United States. . . but then again, maybe he knows whereof he speaks.


Enormity (ĭ-nôr'mĭ-tē) pronunciation
Enormity Definition, n., pl. -ties.
1. The quality of passing all moral bounds; excessive wickedness or outrageousness.
2. A monstrous offense or evil; an outrage.
3. Usage Problem. Great size; immensity: “Beyond that, [Russia's] sheer enormity offered a defense against invaders that no European nation enjoyed” (W. Bruce Lincoln).

[French énormité, from Old French, from Latin ēnormitās, from ēnormis, unusual, enormous. See enormous.]

USAGE NOTE Enormity is frequently used to refer simply to the property of being great in size or extent, but many would prefer that enormousness (or a synonym such as immensity) be used for this general sense and that enormity be limited to situations that demand a negative moral judgment, as in Not until the war ended and journalists were able to enter Cambodia did the world really become aware of the enormity of Pol Pot's oppression. Fifty-nine percent of the Usage Panel rejects the use of enormity as a synonym for immensity in the sentence At that point the engineers sat down to design an entirely new viaduct, apparently undaunted by the enormity of their task. This distinction between enormity and enormousness has not always existed historically, but nowadays many observe it. Writers who ignore the distinction, as in the enormity of the President's election victory or the enormity of her inheritance, may find that their words have cast unintended aspersions or evoked unexpected laughter.

I am willing to give our new president the benefit of the doubt, but our media, should they really just parrot back what their adored one says? An example is from KATIE COURIC who interviewed Mr. Obama on January 14 with this opening question, “So, President-elect Obama, which you'll be president when this airs, by the way because this is gonna be for a primetime special on next Tuesday night, are you starting to realize the enormity of your new job?” If he’s not Katie, the rest of us surely are!

Bottom line, words have meaning!