In 1999, David Howard, a white Washington, D.C., agency director, famously resigned amid the outcry following his use of the word niggardly in reference to a budget matter. For all the moaning about political correctness run amok in the reaction to Howard, who was later rehired, it pretty much took niggardly out of the public lexicon. Except when quoting sources or in stories referring to the Howard incident, the Washington Post has used niggardly only once since 1999; the term appeared dozens of times from 1990 to 1999. And for all the arguments that it’s a perfectly good word, I’m still waiting for the editor who dares to pen a headline describing one of President Obama’s policies as niggardly.
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