pasquinade means A lampoon, originally as published in public; a satire or libel on someone. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 72 out of 100.
pasquinade is pronounced /paskwɪˈneɪd/.
Why “pasquinade” is a great word
PASQUINADE — [Noun] An anonymous, satirical lampoon, traditionally posted in a public place. Its etymology flows from the Italian *pasquinata*, derived from Pasquino, the name of a mutilated statue in Renaissance Rome upon which citizens would clandestinely fix their scurrilous verses. Unlike "satire" (a broad genre of systemic critique) or "lampoon" (a general term for harsh mockery), a pasquinade is a specific, guerrilla act of public dissent—a paper bullet posted in the night. It is the crumpled broadsheet nailed to the church door, the libelous couplet pasted to a marble plinth, the scrawled indictment fluttering from a stone torso—the fragile, combustible word momentarily outlasting the permanence of power.
noun
- A lampoon, originally as published in public; a satire or libel on someone.“I thought the whole tale would shortly be served up in racy pasquinade—but Catherine, who might have said anything, didn't say a word.”
verb
- To satirize (someone) by using a pasquinade.“Chantilly was a quondam cobler of the Rue St. Denis, who, becoming stage-mad, had attempted the rôle of Xerxes, in Crebillon's tragedy so called, and been notoriously pasquinaded for his pains.”