If quoting rarely used English words paid you rewards, Congress‘s member of parliament Shashi Tharoor would be a billionaire by now. Known for inventing and baffling people with new, never-heard-before English words, Kerala MP, Tharoor once again came up with a new term. This time he used it to take an apparent dig on his political rival and India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

Now if you have already started looking for a dictionary or as netizens call it a ‘Tharoorictionary’, you might want to pause because Tharoor explained the meaning as well

Also Read: ‘Speak English like Shashi Tharoor’, promises app; Cong leader isn’t happy

Taking to Twitter, a platform that he also uses to conduct an English vocab class, Tharoor said he learnt a new term ‘Pogonotrophy’. The meaning of the word is ” growing or cultivation of beard.” He said the word was taught to him by an economist friend Rathin Roy.

Do you suddenly feel that strong urge to ask your English teacher for all the fees back? We all can relate. However, generous Shashi Tharoor has also quoted an example to help his followers understand the term.

Taking an apparent dig at PM Narendra Modi’s surprising new look dominated by a long grown beard, Tharoor said “As in, the PM’s pogonotrophy has been a pandemic preoccupation.”

Since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic that took a deadly turn in India in the form of a so-called second wave, PM Modi has been on the receiving end of sharp criticism and jibes for his look transformation. 

Also Read | Congress MP Shashi Tharoor mocks Australian cricketers with his ‘word of the day’

Coming back to Pognotrophy, Tharoor’s tweet has been widely shared by netizens on the microblogging site and received several hilarious responses. 

However, this is not the first time when Tharoor made us scratch our heads in amusement with his English vocab. In the past, the Congress leader has surprised people with rarely used English words such as ‘farrago’ and ‘troglodyte’. Now, it’s the right time to look for a dictionary, sorry Tharoorictionary.