If ever there was a word that deserved to have a moan in the middle of it, this is it.
Sanctimonious means pretending to be holy.
How does someone do that?
He wears the clothes, he goes regularly to the holy places, and he quotes the holy writings on every possible occasion.
Well, all right, but how do we tell sanctimony from sanctity?
Well, you know the expression do as I say, not do as I do?
The sanctimonious person is one who stops after say.
(And, yes, I am writing this on a Sunday.)
Sunday Rest: sanctimonious. This word comes from the Latin sanctimonia, which, reasonably enough, actually meant sanctity, from sanctus, holy.
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