When President Trump threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea and mocked its leader, Kim Jong-un, as “Rocket Man” in a speech on Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly, the rhetorical retaliation from Pyongyang was inevitable. That Mr. Kim would call Mr. Trump a “mentally deranged U.S. dotard” on Friday was something more of a surprise.
The word “dotard” in particular sent people to the dictionary to look up the arcane put-down. Merriam-Webster noted that “dotard” comes from “dotage,” a word meaning “a state or period of senile decay marked by decline of mental poise and alertness.” It rhymes with goatherd.
