Neologism of the Day: Qualifiction

A teaser on the front page of this week's Simmons Voice, the college newspaper, declares "Student questions Palin's qualifictions [sic]." That last word was a typo - obviously the intended word was "qualification" - but when you think about it, "qualifiction" is a dandy word for false or misleading credentials. On resumes, people commonly stretch the truth of their experience by taking more credit for some accomplishment than they probably deserve. But lies presented as truths are, in a sense, fictions. Thus a new word for the week - "qualifiction: the outright misrepresentations of job titles, degrees, or achievements that are presented to bolster one's suitability for a job." Pass it on!