I just did a Google search for the word frenemy. There were 148,000 Web sites found by the search. But it isn’t listed in Webster’s New World College Dictionary Fourth Edition, the official dictionary of the Associated Press and most newspaper newsrooms. That may just be a sign of old newspaper guys like me being out of touch — and a topic for another day.
But the Merriam Webster Online Dictionary defines frenemy thusly:
Main Entry: fren·e·my
Pronunciation: \ˈfre-nə-mē\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural fren·e·mies
Etymology: blend of friend and enemy
Date: 1977
: one who pretends to be a friend but is actually an enemy
My god, it’s been a recognized word for 32 years. Where in the hell have I been?
Like many lessons in my life, learning about frenemies this week was something learned the hard way. Clearly, I have more than a few of them. This blog is new. No one else is reading it. The comments are all mine and I don’t have to deal with the dumb shit people say on the other Web sites that sometimes seem to own me. Often I am left scratching my head at some of the things said online — usually anonymously — by the people who I am beginning to see as frenemies.
And that brings me to what will be the first rule of this friendly little blog — if you want to make a comment, please do. But also please use your name. Enemies are welcome. I don’t have to agree with everyone. But there will be none of this frenemy B.S.
Brome Hill 