The world needs more words. Today’s word is monger. Who retires these words? Somebody should stop them.

The Oxford English dictionary is clear. Monger is associated with disreputable trade. Makes one wonder. cheesemonger? Ironmonger? Well, Perl Mongers; that makes sense.

Tradesmen, middlemen, intermediaries are a disreputable lot. Two faced and all that. So a few words reserved to remind one of the disreputable undercurrent is most useful. Monger’s just the ticket – enabling all kinds of tempering: patriotism mongering, metric mongering, procedural mongering.

They used to past laws about this stuff: sailor mongering. This crime was apparently the perpetrated by houses of prostitution who’s employees would be sent out to board a ship entering port. There they would lead the noble seamen astray so that later they might take them prisoner and hold them until the ship’s management would pay to spring them. I’m a little unclear where in that narative the unsavory bit of trade enters the picture; it seems a bit unsavory from end to end.

Bonus word tools: I’ve been desperate to find the time to browser., and something me; but oh please avoid marketecture!