Two terms have come up more than once in my podcast feed the past few months, and I’m wondering if you, like me, need a little help understanding them.
Ever heard of a trial balloon? How about what it means for something to be in parity? Let the Word Nerd clue you in, just in time for your weekend social engagements. You’ll be the smartest nerd at the party!
Trial balloon
I’ve heard the “new to me” term “trial balloon” used most recently by news commentators talking about how various November election candidates, including Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump and presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee Kamala Harris, are launching various campaign trial balloons to see how they go over with the public.
According to Merriam-Webster, a trial balloon is a “a project or scheme tentatively announced in order to test public opinion.” I guess that makes sense, right? It’s like sending out a test idea to see how it floats. However, you might be surprised to learn the term trial balloon was first used way back in 1826!
Parity
Parity came up months ago on the Forward podcast, hosted by Andrew Yang, to describe the state of the potential presidential race between then assumed candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Yang talked about votes or polling results coming “to parity.”
With the opening of the Olympic games, I’ve heard parity used more often. A story on NPR described how American swimmers, once dominant in the pool, were struggling in this year’s Olympic events. American swimmer Ryan Murphy, who won gold in the 100 meter backstroke in Rio in 2016, earned bronze in that same event this year. About rising competition around the world, Murphy said, “Really the parity internationally, it’s really competitive right now.”
Interestingly, parity has also gotten attention because the 2024 Paris games are the first to achieve “gender parity,” meaning there will be equal representation of male and female athletes. Notably, the 1900 Olympics, also hosted in Paris, were the first to allow women to participate. Now, 124 years later, there are finally the same number of women as men performing at the games, and women’s sports continue to get more recognition.
Parity comes from the Latin paritas, from par equal. It’s a noun that means he quality or state of being equal or equivalent. It also has a ton of meanings related to currency, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. It was first used in 1572! (Merriam-Webster)
If you’re interested in learning more about the history of women’s involvement in the Olympics, check out this article on NBC’s Olympics website. Pretty interesting, and it’s about time!
What interesting terms have you heard lately, from the Olympics, or otherwise?
Thanks for getting nerdy with me!
