Belie and Betray

Belie and Betray Belie and Betray Belie and Betray By Maeve Maddox A reader asks for a discussion of these two words: I get confused when using belie and betray. Sometimes they seem to mean the same thing. Would you please explain when each word should be used, and why. The OED cites two verbs spelled belie that were in use as early as 1000 CE. One belie meant, â€Å"to lie around or encompass.† It was used literally to describe a spatial connection. For example, an army â€Å"belied by the enemy† was surrounded by the enemy. This belie was also a slang word for â€Å"have sex with.† The other belie is the one still used in modern English. Its original meaning was â€Å"to deceive by lying.† Shakespeare plays on the different meanings of the words lie and belie in the scene in which Iago employs innuendo to stoke the Moor’s fears about Michael Cassio: OTHELLO: What hath he said? IAGO: Why, that he did- I know not what he did. OTHELLO: What? what? IAGO: Lie- OTHELLO: With her? IAGO: With her, on her, what you will. OTHELLO: Lie with her? lie on her? We say â€Å"lie on her† when they belie her! Lie with her- that’s fulsome.  - Othello, IV, 1. The belie associated with falsehood expanded to have the following meanings: 1. to tell lies about; especially to calumniate by false statements. 2. to give a false representation or account of, to misrepresent; to present in a false character. 3. to treat a thing as false by speaking or acting at variance with it. 4. to show to be false, prove false or mistaken; to falsify. Belie is often seen in headlines. Here are several examples from the Web: Companies’ Pro-Equality Rhetoric Belied by Their Campaign Donations Image of a Wealthy Gore Is Belied by a Net Worth in Senates Minor League Outsider claims belie political insider past Sometimes belie is used to mean cover up or conceal: Their campaign promises belie a more sinister agenda. Pickfords small stature and cinema sweetness belied a shrewd businesswoman, forming her own production company. Beware of euphemisms that  belie  Ã¢â‚¬Å"hellish†Ã‚  behavior.    A common use of belie is, â€Å"to misrepresent† or â€Å"to reveal as a lie†: Laboratory Tests Belie Promises Of Some GMO-Free Food Labels CO2 emissions belie climate  promises Shattered streets of Homs belie Assads promises of peace Sometimes belie is synonymous with â€Å"call into question†: Marias strength and  intelligence belie  our image of a â€Å"genteel southern lady   Strike, protests  belie  Haitian  governments  free education claims.   Marilyn Monroe and Joanna Lumley belie the dumb blonde image. Monroe was reputed to have an IQ of 170 and Lumley is a member of the Royal Geographical Society. The verb betray also has multiple meanings: to lead into error or sin A Don Juan is a villain who betrays virgins and abandons them. to deliver into the hands of an enemy When he had obtained the confidence of the citizens, he betrayed the town to Darius. to prove faithless or treacherous to a friend How should we react when we find out that a friend  betrayed  us?   to prove faithless to ones country Aaron Burr is often alluded to as the stereotypical traitor: a man who betrayed his country. to reveal A red brick chimney rising up the north side  betrayed the existence of  the small fireplace in the living room. The intended meaning of betray is usually obvious from the context. Because the meaning of belie is not always clear, writers may choose from the following alternatives: contradict be at odds with call into question show to be false disprove debunk discredit negate Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Grammar Test 1What is Dative Case?Plurals of Proper Names

Timeline of the Little Rock School Integration

Timeline of the Little Rock School Integration In September 1927, Little Rock Senior High School opened. Costing more than 1.5 million to construct, the school opened for white students only. Two years later, the Paul Laurence Dunbar High School opened for African-American students. Its construction cost $400,000 with donations from the Rosenwald Foundation and Rockefeller General Education Fund. 1954 May 17: The U.S. Supreme Court finds that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional in the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.May 22: Despite many southern school boards resisting the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Little Rock School Board decides to cooperate with the Court’s decision.August 23: The Arkansas NAACP Legal Redress Committee is led by attorney Wiley Branton. With Branton at the helm, the NAACP petitions the school board for prompt integration of public schools. 1955 May 24: The Blossom Plan is adopted by the Little Rock School Board. The Blossom Plan calls for the gradual integration of public schools. Beginning of September 1957, the high school would become integrated followed by lower grades over the next six years.May 31: The initial Supreme Court ruling provided no guidance on how to desegregate public schools yet acknowledged the need for further discussions. In another unanimous ruling known as Brown II, local federal judges are given the responsibility of ensuring that public school authorities integrate â€Å"with all deliberate speed.† 1956 February 8: The NAACP lawsuit, Aaron v. Cooper is dismissed by Federal Judge John E. Miller. Miller argues that the Little Rock School Board acted in â€Å"utmost good faith† in establishing the Blossom Plan.April: The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upholds Miller’s dismissal yet made the Little Rock School Board’s Blossom Plan a court mandate.   1957 August 27: The Mother’s League of Central High School holds its first meeting. The organization advocates for continued segregation in public schools and files a motion for a temporary injunction against integration at Central High School.August 29: Chancellor Murray Reed approves the injunction arguing that the integration of Central High School could lead to violence. Federal Judge Ronald Davies, however, voids the injunction, ordering the Little Rock School Board to continue with its plans for desegregation.September: The local NAACP registers nine African-Americans students to attend Central High School. These students were chosen based on their academic achievement and attendance.September 2: Orval Faubus, then governor of Arkansas, announces through a televised speech that African-American students would not be allowed to enter Central High School. Faubus also orders the state’s National Guard to enforce his orders.September 3: The Mother’s League, Citizenà ¢â‚¬â„¢s Council, parents and students of Central High School hold a â€Å"sunrise service.† September 20: Federal judge Ronald Davies orders the National Guard to be removed from Central High School arguing that Faubus has not used them to preserve law and order. Once the National Guard leaves, the Little Rock Police Department arrive.September 23, 1957: The Little Rock Nine are escorted inside of Central High School while a mob of more than 1000 white residents protest outside. The nine students are later removed by local police officials for their own safety. In a televised speech, Dwight Eisenhower orders federal troops to stabilize violence in Little Rock, calling the behavior of white residents â€Å"disgraceful.†September 24: An estimated 1200 members of the 101st Airborne Division arrive in Little Rock, placing the Arkansas National Guard under federal orders.September 25: Escorted by federal troops, the Little Rock Nine are escorted into Central High School for their first day of classes.September 1957 to May 1958: The Little Rock Nine attend classes at Centr al High School but are met with physical and verbal abuse by students and staff. One of the Little Rock Nine, Minnijean Brown, was suspended for the remainder of the school year after she reacted to consistent confrontations with white students. 1958 May 25: Ernest Green, a senior member of the Little Rock Nine, is the first African-American to graduate from Central High School.June 3: After identifying several disciplinary issues at Central High School, the school board requests a delay in the desegregation plan.June 21: Judge Harry Lemly approves the delay of integration until January 1961. Lemly argues that although African-American students have a constitutional right to attend integrated schools, the â€Å"time has not come for them to enjoy [that right].†September 12: The Supreme Court rules that Little Rock must continue to use its desegregation plan in place. High schools are ordered to open on September 15.September 15: Faubus orders four high schools in Little Rock to be closed at 8 am.September 16: The Women’s Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools (WEC) is established and builds support to open public schools in Little Rock.September 27: White residents of Little Rock vote 19, 470 to 7,561 in support of segregation. The public schools remain closed. This becomes known as the â€Å"Lost Year.† 1959 May 5: Members of the school board in support of segregation vote not to renew the contracts of more than 40 teachers and school administrators in support of integration.May 8: WEC and a group of local business owners establish Stop This Outrageous Purge (STOP). The organization begins soliciting voter signatures to oust the school board members in favor of segregation. In retaliation, segregationists form the Committee to Retain Our Segregated Schools (CROSS).May 25: In a close vote, STOP wins the election. As a result, three segregationists are voted off the school board and three moderate members are appointed.August 12: Little Rock public high schools reopen. Segregationists protest at the State Capitol and Governor Faubus encourages them not to give up the struggle to keep schools from integrating. As a result, the segregationists march to Central High School. An estimated 21 people are arrested after police and fire departments break up the mob.