Apologies in advance for the irregular font sizes:

Θωπεύω: 1) caress or stroke; 2) to flatter

A strange word that I have never heard anyone say. I came across it years ago and promptly forget the meaning. Then – after decades – I read it recently, only to see it once again a few days. I wonder if words come in and go out of fashion. For example, in the mid-80s, the word φαλκίδευση appeared frequently over a number of months. I haven’t seen it since! The second example of θωπεύω comes from an article in Ethnos which reports that a 62-year-old local man got put in the slammer for 16 months after stroking (or smacking) a 21-year-old woman on the arse while they were standing at a bus stop. The headline:

Θεσσαλονίκη: Στη φυλακή 62χρονος που θώπευσε κοπέλα σε στάση λεωφορείου

“Prison for 62-year-old who touched up a girl at a bus stop” In his very unconvincing defence he said, “Βρισκόμουν υπό την επήρεια αλκοόλ και έδωσα μια σφαλιάρα στα οπίσθια της κοπέλας. Δεν θέλω να δικαστώ καθόλου. Τι έκανα; Έπινα ρετσίνα. Μου έδωσε μια σφαλιάρα και ακόμη πονάω. Της ζήτησα συγγνώμη.” Translation:

“I was under the influence of alcohol, and I gave the girl a smack on the behind. I don’t want to be tried at all. What did I do? I had been drinking retsina. She slapped me across the face and I’m still sore. I apologised to her.”

https://www.ethnos.gr/greece/article/222072/thessalonikhsthfylakh62xronospoythopeysekopelasestashleoforeioytiyposthrixe

As we can see from the above example, the “θωπεία” was anything but a gentle caress. Indeed, the word he uses – σφαλιάρα – means a slap. But where did I read the first example? I eventually remembered that it is in GW 21/2022. In the blog about the wire-tapping scandal, the author states that some of the government’s explanations are worse than the crime itself. In other words, when you’re in a hole, stop digging:

“Περιττό να πούμε ότι οι δικαιολογίες αυτές είναι έωλες και θυμίζουν το ανέκδοτο με τον βασιλιά, που ζήτησε από τον γελωτοποιό του να βρει μια πράξη που η δικαιολογία της θα ήταν χειρότερη από την ίδια την πράξη. Λίγες μέρες μετά, όπως ο βασιλιάς καθόταν και ρέμβαζε στο μπαλκόνι, ο τζουτζές τον πλησίασε και τον εθώπευσε στα οπίσθια. — Πώς τολμάς, άθλιε; — Συγνώμη, μεγαλειότατε, σας εξέλαβα για τη βασίλισσα!” Translation:

“Needless to say, these excuses don’t hold water and remind us of the joke where the king asks the court jester to find an action whose justification would be worse than the action itself. A few days later, as the king was daydreaming on the balcony, the jester approached him and stroked him on the behind.

• How dare you, you miserable wretch!
• My apologies, your majesty, I mistook you for the queen.”

Here the word is used more correctly than in the bus-stop incident. The ε-augment in εθώπευσε is marked as incorrect by Word. And as the usual past tense θώπευσε contains three syllables, the augment is not required.

Going back to our bus stop, here is a great song from the 60s where the outcome is more positive.