Most are familiar with the word charlatan. It does not seem to be used conversationally much, but when it is, we know it from books and school. Today, many would say we live among charlatans of all ilk.
The word charlatan has a more serious definition, referring to swindlers, con artists, fraudsters, and people claiming to have special knowledge they lack. A person who masquerades as a doctor to run an illegal clinic would be a charlatan. Charles Ponzi, Bernie Madoff, and Gregor MacGregor were all charlatans.
“Bernie Madoff was nothing more than a charlatan who stole millions from his customers.”
“Charles C. Parker was an infamous charlatan who falsely sold the Brooklyn Bridge and other New York landmarks to greedy investors.”
“Billy learned to be a charlatan early when he sold watered-down lemonade to his friends and neighbors.”
To my surprise, some recognize unthaw as a real word. I think unthawing something would be freezing it (the opposite of thawing). According to Webster’s dictionary, unthaw and thaw became synonymous in the 1600s, with the “un” being added for emphasis. Other examples of this use come with unhelpful, unremorseless, or unwitless.
No matter how you justify unthaw, I think it is wrong. Thaw, melt, and warm have more precise meanings and do not leave people scratching their heads. It seems dubious to justify it with more examples of confusing word usage. Unthaw is at best a contradiction that leads to confusion.
“Sally said she needed to unthaw the hamburger meat before the picnic, and it left everyone scratching their heads.”
“Bill did not want to drive to work until the roads unthawed.”
“John’s attitude about the new boss needed to unthaw before he got in trouble.”
Combining these two concepts in a single sentence is hard because of the unthaw. These examples seem dubious to me, but they fit.
“The charlatan chef did not know that “unthaw” was a contradiction and he kept telling his patrons he would ‘unthaw the frozen chicken,’ leaving them confused.”
“The survivalist proved to be a charlatan when he instructed his team to ‘unthaw the ice for drinking water,’ and they realized he had no idea what he was talking about.”
“The charlatan mechanic claimed he could fix any car, but when he told his apprentice to ‘unthaw the frozen engine coolant,’ it became clear that he had no idea how engines worked.”
