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Podcast: Word of the Day
Episode: Brinkmanship
Description: Brinkmanship is a noun that refers to the practice of pursuing a dangerous policy.
The word brink refers to something unwelcome that is about to occur. Our word of the day combines this word with the suffix M-A-N-S-H-I-P which means ‘skill.’ Originally coined during the cold war of the mid-twentieth century, it initially referred to the act of a nation putting itself on the brink of war for political gain. Here’s an example:
There was a great deal of brinkmanship at that point in history that later proved to be unpopular with the nation. Most p...