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Word of the Day: Hot mic
By now, I’m guessing you’ve heard about President Biden’s hot mic incident from last week.
Yeah, a reporter yelled a question about inflation at him, and Biden muttered “…dumb son of a bi***…” under his breath.
Well, as we saw, Biden didn’t answer the question; he didn’t like the question.
A hot mic is a microphone that is turned on, broadcasting live and captures an embarrassing or private moment.
However, he created a great news clip that went all over the world and gave me the opportunity for a teaching moment.
So, let’s get into it.
A hot mic is a microphone that is turned on, broadcasting live and captures an embarrassing or private moment, such as when a politician says something they shouldn’t in the middle of a news conference.
Not only did Biden get caught out on a hot mic, but he simultaneously created a social faux pas.
I’ve covered this one before, but here is a quick review.
A faux pas is a social mistake or an act considered impolite.
Often faux pas are not intentional but create awkward situations.
A politician may commit one during a news conference.
Now, Biden did not swear a blue streak.
It wasn’t that bad, but he did swear in public, and it was captured with a hot mic.
I suppose we could call that a double whammy.
Luckily for him, this very public gaffe was not necessarily a public relations disaster.
It is not a good look for the most powerful man in the world to be caught on a hot mic swearing in public, but at the same time, the most powerful man in the world will not be brought down by a four-letter word.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test
This post is understandable by someone with at least a 7th-grade education (age 12).
On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 72.
The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.