‘__gate’

Everything wears out its welcome eventually. In this periodic feature, we say when.

After the news broke that Cindy McCain may have swiped a pasta recipe, pundits instantly dubbed it "Farfallegate," as if Bittergate and Spitzergate weren't enough. Please, can we stop hanging the suffix on every hint of impropriety, no matter how trivial? (The trivialization began early: after Watergate, the French labeled a scandal over Bordeaux "Winegate." Since then we've survived—just to name a few—Irangate, Travelgate, Skategate, Filegate, Monicagate and two Troopergates.) The device is beyond hackneyed. But worse, it's an exercise in hysterical hyperbole. Remember, the original case refers to a break-in that caused the downfall of a U.S. president. Farfallegate? It's barely a kerfuffle.

© 2008