During the first US presidential debate, many viewers thought Donald Trump used the word 'bigly' when he said, 'I'm going to cut taxes bigly, and you're going to raise taxes bigly.' However, the Associated Press, CNN, and the Washington Post transcribed it as 'big league,' not 'bigly.'
This is not the first time listeners have questioned the term. In May, The Guardian reported Trump telling supporters, 'We're going to win bigly,' and in June, Dictionary.com noted he warned Iran was taking over Iraq 'bigly.' The New York Daily News also quoted him saying Obamacare would kick in 'really bigly' in June 2015.
Despite assumptions that 'bigly' is a neologism, it is a legitimate word. Fiona McPherson, a senior editor with the Oxford English Dictionary, confirms it means 'with great force' and was used by Thomas Hardy in Far From the Madding Crowd to mean 'proudly, haughtily, pompously.' Merriam-Webster also lists it as an adverb meaning 'in a big manner' or, archaically, 'in a swelling blustering manner.'
However, Merriam-Webster tweeted after the debate, 'That's not what Trump said,' siding with the 'big league' interpretation. Listeners who detect a 'G' sound may be hearing Trump's New York accent and rapid diction. The Trump campaign has not responded to BBC requests for clarification, but Trump's son Eric confirmed his father said 'big league,' and spokeswoman Hope Hicks told Slate magazine in September 2015 that it is 'big league.' Trump has never used 'bigly' on Twitter, but frequently tweets about things being 'big league.'
Regardless of what Trump said, the attention may revive the word 'bigly.' McPherson notes, 'Whether or not he said it, he's brought it to people's attention,' potentially prompting its use in conversation again.
