Question

bardolater noun George Bernard Shaw once described a Shakespeare play as "stagy trash." Another time, Shaw said he'd like to dig Shakespeare from the grave and throw stones at him. Shaw could be equally scathing toward Shakespeare's adoring fans. He called them "foolish Bardolaters," wrote of "Bardolatrous" ignoramuses, and called blind Shakespeare worship "Bardolatry." Oddly enough, Shaw didn't despise Shakespeare or his work (on the contrary, he was, by his own admission, an admirer), but he disdained those who placed the man beyond reproach. The word "bardolater," which Shaw coined by blending Shakespeare's epithet -- "the Bard" -- with an affix that calls to mind "idolater," has stuck with us to this day, though it has lost some of its original critical sting. : a person who idolizes Shakespeare

Accepted Answer

July 19, 2009 bar-DAH-luh-ter "[Abraham] Lincoln was a lifelong Bardolater and serial Shakespeare-quoter, as Mr. [Barack] Obama noted in remarks at the recent reopening of Ford's Theater." (Barry Edelstein, The New York Times, April 26, 2009)

Word	bardolater
Date	July 19, 2009
Type	noun
Syllables	bar-DAH-luh-ter
Etymology	George Bernard Shaw once described a Shakespeare play as "stagy trash." Another time, Shaw said he'd like to dig Shakespeare from the grave and throw stones at him. Shaw could be equally scathing toward Shakespeare's adoring fans. He called them "foolish Bardolaters," wrote of "Bardolatrous" ignoramuses, and called blind Shakespeare worship "Bardolatry." Oddly enough, Shaw didn't despise Shakespeare or his work (on the contrary, he was, by his own admission, an admirer), but he disdained those who placed the man beyond reproach. The word "bardolater," which Shaw coined by blending Shakespeare's epithet -- "the Bard" -- with an affix that calls to mind "idolater," has stuck with us to this day, though it has lost some of its original critical sting.
Examples	"[Abraham] Lincoln was a lifelong Bardolater and serial Shakespeare-quoter, as Mr. [Barack] Obama noted in remarks at the recent reopening of Ford's Theater." (Barry Edelstein, The New York Times, April 26, 2009)
Definition	: a person who idolizes Shakespeare

Shaw Shakespeare Bardolater Shakespeare's Called July Noun Bar Dah Luh Ter