My Bad!

Yesterday, I had dinner with a friend who asked me if I knew a particular person, which eminent person is the chairman of the board of a corporation, on which board my friend also sits as a voting member.

“Sure,” I said, “I know him. He’s one of your cronies.”

“Cronies?!?!” exclaimed my friend with indignation.

At that moment I wondered whether I had misused the word. Later I went back to look, and while most dictionaries define “crony” as a close friend or companion, my friend must have assumed I was hinting that there was cronyism at play, cronyism being the practice of appointing close friends to positions of power of influence regardless of such person’s qualifications for the job.

Unfortunately, my friend stormed out in a huff.

My bad!