the.com/insolence
the art of telling power exactly where it can stick its crown.
means Insolence is rude, contemptuous disrespect — the kind of cheek that treats authority or another's dignity as beneath notice.
from From Latin insolentia, the noun behind insolens, meaning 'unaccustomed, immoderate, arrogant.' Break it down and it's in- ('not') plus solere ('to be accustomed') — so the insolent person is literally one who does not behave as is usual or fitting, someone unbound by the customs of deference. It traveled through Old French into English in the late medieval period, where its earlier sense of 'extravagant, over-the-top behavior' narrowed into the sharper modern flavor of bold disrespect.
- latin root
- from insolens, meaning unaccustomed or excessive
- slave revolts
- often began with a single insolent refusal
- teen specialty
- adolescent brains are wired for boundary-testing defiance
- workplace cost
- insubordination charges fire millions yearly
- twin sister
- closely tied to the word insult by origin
cato the younger — roman senator who repeatedly defied caesar in the senate before the civil war, 60-49 bce
muhammad ali's draft refusal — boxer refused u.s. military induction in 1966, declaring 'i ain't got no quarrel with them viet cong'
salman rushdie fatwa response — author continued public appearances and writings after iran's 1989 fatwa condemning him to death