WordWealth: vacillate

vac·il·late , v.i., -lat·ed, -lat·ing.

Indeed the only group portrayed as basically lacking honor is one to which the author may well belong: the pack of reporters and pundits referred to in the book as "scorps," short for "scorpions." In Primary Colors the politicians often vacillate when deciding whether to do the right thing. The scorps never even pause while building candidates up and predictably tearing them back down. Some people have guessed that "Anonymous" concealed his or her name to avoid outrage from the Clinton administration. Perhaps there is a different group whose wrath the author fears even more. —— James Fallows; 'Primary Target, a Commentary'; the Atlantic; March 1996

He seems to vacillate between regret and arrogance about the position he is in. In principle he does not believe in imposing his will on others, but in practice he often does so. He told me that he is aware of the contradiction, and agrees with the people who question whether any one man should hold such power. His commentaries have become complicated by the certainty that they will be read as more than frank opinions. When he writes that a wine is "an insider's secret," it instantly becomes just the opposite. ——  William Langewiesche; '10,000 Wines a Year'; the Atlantic; Dec 2000    

Projected from above, luminous organic designs grow, swirl and recede in a symbolic progression from birth to death and rebirth. The effect is pleasantly mesmerizing.--Sight and sound are also combined in the main component of Christa Erickson's ''REplay'' installation, which uses cordless earphones to activate film clips designed to stimulate childhood memories. The images and narratives are geared to female viewers, who will probably more readily identify with the feelings triggered by the flickering sequences that vacillate between nostalgia and cautionary symbolism. Sensations of taste and touch are memorialized in boxes that pair video animation with tangible reminders of past experiences. —— Helen A. Harrison; 'A Show of Treasures From the Smithsonian'; New York Times; Oct 5, 2003, Sunday

Gould's portraits of turn-of-the-century stars like Jim Thorpe and the deaf Dummy Hoy are often more emotional than intellectual. The two new essays Gould wrote for the book, especially one about memories of playing stickball as a boy in Queens, vacillate between charming and hurriedly perfunctory. —— Alan Schwarz; 'Stats Are a Fossil Record'; New York Times; May 25, 2003, Sunday

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