Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest revision - May 30, 2024
On May 28, 2024,Todd Blanche, lead defense attorney for former United States President Donald Trump's lead defense attorney labeled Michael Cohen a 'gloat" and indicated that the acronym "gloat" means "the greatest liar of all times". Blanche used that acronym.as part of his closing argument for Trump's New York criminal trial for falsification of business records/election interference charges. That trial is most commonly known as "the hush money" trial.
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Update-On May 30, 2024 former United States President Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 felony counts in that New York trial. That verdict was read in the court at 5:07 PM Eastern time.
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This pancocojams post presents information about the history and original meaning of the African American Vernacular English acronym "G.O.A.T." ("goat") and traces how that slang term "evolved" to the acronym "gloat'.
This post also presents examples of different meanings that have been given for the acronym "gloat", including the definition that Attorney Todd Blanche probably made up.
The content of this post is presented for linguistic, cultural, and political purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE AFRICAN AMERICAN VERNACULAR ENGLISH ACRONYM "G.O.A.T" (also given as "goat")
Excerpt #1
From https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/2024/04/08/what-does-goat-mean-and-how-did-it-start-caitlin-clark-ll-cool-j-dawn-staley-ncaa/73243178007/ "Where does the term 'GOAT' come from and what does it mean? by Jessica Rish, April 8, 2024
"Muhammad Ali. Earl Manigault. Caitlin Clark.
These three athletes all have been called "The GOAT," but what does that even mean?
The term "GOAT" is an acronym for "Greatest of All Time" and is believed to have originated in the world of hip-hop music in the 1990s. The term was popularized by rapper and actor LL Cool J.
In 2000, LL Cool J released an album titled "G.O.A.T." In an interview with Change the Game TV, he explains the term's roots:
"I got the term from two people. First of all, Muhammad Ali obviously said he was the greatest of all time. So I got it from Muhammad Ali. And then there was a street ballplayer called Earl Manigault, but they call him the GOAT…," LL Cool J said. "So I just decided that I was going to take 'GOAT' and greatest of all time and make an acronym. That's when I dropped my album in 2000, I called it, 'G.O.A.T.' featuring the greatest of all time. I had no idea that it was going to become part of the lexicon."
GOAT gradually crossed into mainstream culture and began to be used in other contexts. Specifically, the term gained popularity in sports discussions and debates, particularly on social media platforms, where fans and analysts would refer to dominant athletes as the "GOAT" of their respective sports."...
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Excerpt #2
From https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/g-o-a-t/
"SLANG DICTIONARY
G.O.A.T.
or GOAT or goat [ goht ] or [ jee-oh-ey-tee ]
June 28, 2018
WHAT DOES G.O.A.T. MEAN?
Not many people can claim to be the G.O.A.T., but those who
can are the Greatest Of All Time in their field. Most often, the acronym
G.O.A.T. praises exceptional athletes but also musicians and other public
figures.
On social media, it’s common to see the goat 🐐 emoji in punning relation to the acronym.
WHERE DOES G.O.A.T. COME FROM?
It turns out we can attribute the term G.O.A.T. to the actual G.O.A.T. himself: Muhammad Ali. In his time, the boxer was popularly nicknamed “The Greatest,” which his wife then turned into G.O.A.T. for publicity in the 1990s.
By 2000, the term had become popular enough in the rap scene that LL Cool J named his album G.O.A.T. – The Greatest Of All Time. We’ll give you that one, LL.
Since then, rappers and professional athletes have used the acronym for themselves just as often as their fans crown them with the title. The term has broadened, however, as shown by a 2004 Urban Dictionary entry defining goat as “tight,” or “exceptional.” An online sneaker marketplace also took GOAT as its name in 2015, presumably in reference to its sick kicks.
[…]
Though its use has expanded, G.O.A.T. and its longer parent greatest of all time spike around professional sports championships when star players make headlines for winning their divisions. Champs like LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Serena Williams are often referred to as the G.O.A.T. in their respective sports by fans and journalists alike
[…]
WHO USES G.O.A.T.?
G.O.A.T. is a fun one, usually said and even written just
like the simple word goat.
The popular phrase lends itself well to modification, like
when Serena Williams’s husband took out a billboard calling her G.M.O.A.T. for
Greatest Mother Of All Time when she played her first tournament after giving
birth.”…
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PREVIOUS MEANINGS FOR THE ACRONYM "GLOAT" BEFORE TODD BLANCHE'S USE OF THAT WORD DURING TRUMP'S NEW YORK CRIMINAL TRIAL
[Numbers are added for referencing purposes only]
From https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=GLOAT
WARNING - urbandictionary.com is comprised of definitions for slang words/acronyms that were submitted by readers.
As is the case with many other urbandictionary.com pages, some of the entries for "gloat" include profanity and/or sexually explicit content. Those particular entries aren't found below.
1. "GLOAT
GLOAT is an acronym that stands for greatest lifeguard of
all time, anyone who trys to tell you that GLOAT stands for anything else but
greatest lifeguard of all time is most likely a communist, and not to be
trusted.
Wow that person is the greatest lifeguard of all time, he
must be the GLOAT."
by GLOAT February 16, 2022
-snip-
This is the top entry for the word "gloat" in urbandictionary.com as of May 18, 2024 at 9:37 Pm Eastern time]
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2, "GLOAT
Greatest Loser of All Time
Tom Brady is the GLOAT."
by AntiNEPatriots January 21, 2019
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From
3. " Gloat
Greatest Legend of All Time. G.L.O.A.T is used an acronym.
Evolution of the Goat or Goated. Mainly used for future Hall of Famers or
someone whom is known for their craft.
Ted: Ninja is such a goat.
Jack: He is truly going to GLOAT.
Jennifer: Been goat in midst of his gaming career.
Ted: Most certainly will be a GLOAT someday!"
by Evan Summers April 15, 2020
-snip-
It appears to me that the acronym "G.O.A.T." (also given as "goat") is relatively commonly used in Hip Hop culture. In contrast, the acronym "gloat" doesn't appear to be used by anyone except the persons who came up with those submitted urbandictionary.com meaning, except perhaps as a joke and/or a play on words.
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THREE ARTICLE EXCERPTS ABOUT ATTORNEY TODD BLANCHE'S USE OF THE ACRONYM "GLOAT" DURING HIS CLOSING ARGUMENT IN FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP'S NEW YORK CRIMINAL TRIAL (May 28, 2024)
DISCLAIMER:
These article excerpts are given as documentation of the probably new meaning for the acronym "gloat".
By no means do I agree with what Todd Blanche said during his closing argument at that trial or elsewhere.
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These article excerpts are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.
Article Excerpt #1
From https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/05/28/closing-arguments-defense-prosecution-trump-trial/
"THE TRUMP CASES
Highlights of closing arguments in Trump’s N.Y. trial
Prosecutors and defense attorneys in Donald Trump’s criminal
trial made their final pitches to jurors, who soon must decide whether to
convict the former president.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys in Donald Trump’s criminal
trial in New York delivered closing arguments Tuesday, making their final
pitches to jurors who will decide whether to convict the former president on 34
counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to the
adult-film actress Stormy Daniels.
Here are key moments from the arguments, which are the last
opportunity both sides have to sway jurors before deliberations begin in the
case.
Donald Trump’s legal team went first, followed by a lawyer from the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
THE DEFENSE
‘Literally the greatest liar of all time.’
Todd Blanche, Trump’s defense attorney, spent much of his
closing argument filleting Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer and the
prosecution’s key witness.
Blanche told jurors Cohen “lied to each of you” during the
trial, calling him “biased and motivated to tell you a story that is not true.”
He also invoked the acronym G.O.A.T., which is often used in sports contexts to
describe someone as the Greatest Of All Time. During his closing remarks,
Blanche dubbed Cohen the G.L.O.A.T., saying he’s the “literally greatest liar
of all time.”…
-snip-
The bold font was originally used in this article.
Article Excerpt #2
May 28, 2024, 6:47 PM EDT
By Jonathan Allen
"At times Tuesday, it was difficult to tell whether former President Donald Trump or his former ally Michael Cohen was on trial.
A largely stoic Trump nearly faded into the background as lawyers for the prosecution and the defense laid out their "summations" — closing arguments — in his hush money case in a worn-down New York courtroom.
Jurors were treated to dueling portrayals of Cohen, the star witness, and the relative significance of both his history of lies and the testimony he provided. State Judge Juan Merchan kept court in session into the evening to inch closer to the point at which Trump's fate is handed to the jury.
Here are four takeaways from Day 21 of the first trial of a former U.S. president:
10 things the defense hates about Michael Cohen
Defense lawyer Todd Blanche focused much of his three-hour closing argument on Cohen, the onetime fixer for Trump whose colorful testimony and past often overshadowed other elements of the trial.
"He is biased and motivated to tell you a story that is not true," Blanche said. "Michael Cohen is the GLOAT — he's literally the Greatest Liar of All Time."
Cohen is at the center of a list, called "10 reasons why you have reasonable doubt," that Blanche used to organize the case that jurors should find Trump not guilty on all counts.
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Article Excerpt #3
1:13 PM / MAY 28, 2024
"Blanche concludes by laying out reasons for reasonable doubt
Blanche ended his argument by summarizing his reasons why
jurors could reasonably doubt prosecutors' narrative of the case, and thus find
Trump not guilty:
[…]
"Michael Cohen is the GLOAT — he's literally the
greatest liar of all time. He has lied to every single branch of Congress, both
houses, the House and the Senate," Blanche said. "He has lied to
federal, state judges, family, bankers, people he works with. His words cannot
be trusted, and I'm going to end this summation the same way that I told you a
few minutes ago, that you know you cannot rely on him.”…
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