The news these past few weeks has proven especially fruitful, especially if you happen to be a word guy who has a weekly column deadline and no idea what to write about. In other words, the subjects of this week’s column are mostly random words in the headlines that recently piqued my interest. I hope you find them interesting as well.

What better place to find interesting words than at the trial of a former president of the United States? First up is what would be the proper way of describing his alleged liaison with an adult film star. Many wary pundits declined to call the encounter a “romantic relationship” since it was neither romantic nor an ongoing relationship. A physical encounter, or tryst perhaps?

Much to the joy (or maybe the disappointment, you be the judge) of word wonks everywhere, some of the trial’s combatants even coined new words to describe one another. After having been called the GLOAT (greatest liar of all time) by a defense lawyer, a key witness for the prosecution later referred to that attorney as the SLOAT (stupidest lawyer of all time).

And, in a fine example of a word with multiple meanings, after the verdicts were read, The New Yorker magazine writer Françoise Mouly and artist John Cuneo wasted no time in anointing the former president “A Man of Conviction” on the cover of the June 10 issue.

It’s reminiscent of another president and word meanings. In the annals of jurisprudence, SLOAT and GLOAT will probably end up in the same place as President Clinton’s response to a question posed by a member of a 1998 grand jury investigating his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky: “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.” According to Time magazine, “Until then, America hadn’t been sure there was more than one definition of ‘is.’ Just to be clear, there isn’t.”

Then there’s this recent Dictionary.com post on X, which was formerly Twitter (do we really need to continue explaining the name change at this point?): “Tsiddahn” (is) coming to a dictionary in 2024 near you.”

In  case you missed it, “tsiddahn,” which is pronounced “sid down,” originated in a recent Saturday Night Live skit in which a series of worn-out teachers admit that their students have “won” the battle for ending the school year.

A recent post on NBC.com states the obvious: “(T)he true star of ‘Teacher PSA’ may be the teacher played by Ego Nwodim, who knew how to harness the power of a one-word phrase: ‘SIT DOWN!’ (spelled ‘TSIDDAHN,’ obviously).”

Finally, my wondering about the difference between “elevation” and “altitude” was reawakened after this newspaper ran a piece about Lewiston’s highest points and tallest buildings. It turns out, after a little research, I learned that elevation is the height of something when it’s measured from sea level.

For example, in the Himalayas, Mount Everest has an elevation of about 29,000 feet, while Alaska’s Denali (formerly Mount McKinley) tops out at around a mere 20,000 feet. Still, in spite of their vast differences in elevation, many people argue that Denali is actually 3,000 feet taller than Mount Everest.

“How is that possible?” you ask. It’s because of the difference in the mountains’ altitudes, which are measured from ground level. While Mount Everest measures a “mere” 15,000 feet from its base, which lies at 14,000 feet, Denali rises 18,000 feet above its 2,000-foot base.

And that’s the long and the short of it for this week’s column.

Jim Witherell of Lewiston is a writer and lover of words whose work includes “L.L. Bean: The Man and His Company” and “Ed Muskie: Made in Maine.” He can be reached at jlwitherell19@gmail.com.