Joe Biden under fire from Jewish groups for using word 'Shylock' during speech about money lending

Joe Biden under fire from Jewish groups for using word 'Shylock' during speech about money lending

He apologized and explained that what he meant to say was "Christ-killer."

Seriously, I think we can give Uncle Joe a little slack on this one. While Shakespeare's Shylock was Jewish, the OED says the term is synonymous with "abusive money-lender" and "loan shark," which is exactly what Biden meant.

I don't like the term myself because bigoted people often refer to any Jewish person as a "shylock," even when that person has nothing to do with money lending, so it sort of becomes a substitute for "sheeny" or "kike." But even given that fact, I think intelligent people should be aware that one word may have multiple meanings in different contexts. I think we all know that "don we now our gay apparel" has nothing to do with short shorts, and I think we all know that Biden is not Mel Gibson, so we can assume that his use of the word in context just means "extortionate usurer." I completely understand why Jewish people are sensitive about this usage, and I'm willing to concede that it's a faux pas, but just about any person who knows his Shakespeare might have used the same undiplomatic term.