Question 1
One of the latent dangers indigenous to our constitutional guarantee of freedom of the press has to do with the protection of the individual against the detriment that might come from news reports involving him. There are libel laws that protect against false charges. If an individual believes his character or livelihood have been damaged by a defamatory article, he can sue. As the plaintiff he must refute the story and show how the defendant caused him harm by printing a canard. The defendant attempts to substantiate the truth of the article. The printing of news may besmirch an individual’s character, but there is no way to alleviate this problem without changes in the Constitution. This would be tantamount to destroying the efficacy of our coveted right to learn the truth from the press. We all deprecate a situation in which someone suffers because of exposure in the newspapers. Only when the harm is caused by someone with a desire to malign under the guise of printing the news can the individual expect to win compensation through the courts.
Sample Sentences: Use the new words in these sentences.
The mayor vehemently denied there was any antipathy between the governor and himself and blamed this _____ on their political opponents.
A canard is a false, made-up story that is spread to mislead people. The mayor says the rumour of antipathy (dislike) between him and the governor is untrue and was invented by opponents, so this canard fits. Not libel: libel is a legal term for false, damaging statements in writing, and it is something you sue for, not a rumour you blame on rivals.
Question 2
I resent your _____ remark that depicts me as a culprit.
The gap needs an adjective before the noun remark. Defamatory means damaging someone's good name with false statements. A remark that falsely shows the speaker as a culprit (guilty person) is defamatory. Libel and canard are nouns, so they cannot describe remark here.
Question 3
The egregious calumny of the defendant worked to the advantage of the _____.
The plaintiff is the person who brings a case to court, the complaining party. Its opposite is the defendant, the person being sued. If the defendant's egregious calumny (outrageous false accusation) is proved, it helps the other side, the plaintiff.
Question 4
Publishers of newspapers and magazines augment their staff with lawyers to represent them when they are sued for _____.
The set phrase is to be sued for libel. Libel is a false written or published statement that damages a person's reputation. That is why publishers of newspapers and magazines need lawyers to defend them. Not defamatory: it is an adjective and cannot follow for alone.
Question 5
The cynic will _____ the motives of anyone who tries to ameliorate the iniquities in our society.
After the modal will we need a base-form verb, and deprecate is the only verb in the list. To deprecate means to express disapproval of something or belittle it, e.g. He deprecated their efforts. A cynic doubts and criticises the motives of people who try to improve society.
Question 6
Definitions: Study these carefully for the fine differences in meaning.
libel (n.)
Libel is a noun for degrading someone through writing or publishing, i.e. a false printed statement that harms a person's reputation, e.g. The actor sued the magazine for libel. Not damaging character by false reports: that defines the adjective defamatory.
Question 7
defamatory
Defamatory (adjective) describes words or articles that damage someone's character with false reports, e.g. a defamatory article. It is the adjective of defame. Do not confuse it with libel, which is the noun for written defamation.
Question 8
plaintiff
A plaintiff is the complaining party in law, the person who starts a lawsuit against someone else. The person being sued is the defendant. In the passage, the plaintiff must refute the story and show how he was harmed.
Question 9
canard
A canard is a made-up, sensational story or a false rumour, e.g. The report of the minister's resignation turned out to be a canard. In the passage, the plaintiff must show the defendant harmed him by printing a canard, a false story.
Question 10
deprecate
Deprecate (verb) means to express disapproval of something, e.g. We all deprecate a situation in which someone suffers because of exposure in the newspapers. It is the only verb among the definitions, so it matches express disapproval. Do not confuse it with depreciate, which means to lose value.
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Free worksheets for class or home
NEW WORDS
- libel [lī´ bəl]
“Issues such as freedom of speech and libel are going to have to be rethought as the Internet makes everyone a potential publisher in cyberspace.” Thomas L. Friedman, “Boston E-Party,” New York Times, 1/1/00
- defamatory [di fam´ ə tôr ē]
“His defamatory remarks about minorities are transmitted on the Internet.” TIME, 8/30/99
- plaintiff [plān´ tif]
“When the attorney for the palsied plaintiff finished, there wasn’t a dry eye in the courtroom.” Rose Axelsohn, “The Defense Rests” [adapted]
- canard [kə närd´]
“It’s a canard to say I want to be a millionaire: I just want to live like one.” Toots Shor, quoted in Life Magazine, 10/12/69
- deprecate [dep´ rə kāt]
“Why do they always deprecate the efforts of a woman press secretary, but rarely a man doing the same job?” New York, 9/25/95
TODAY’S IDIOM
- a pretty kettle of fish—a messy situation, a problem
He knew that when he attacked the sacred cow* he would be in a pretty kettle of fish. (Do you remember this idiom? It was used earlier in the book and should be familiar.