Furore — A Vocabulary Story
The Pink Crossing
Otieno noticed it first, on the way to school on Monday. The zebra crossing at the end of Hartley Road was no longer black and white. Overnight, somebody from the council had painted the stripes bright pink.
"That is going to cause a furore," said his mum, and she was right.
Furore means a sudden burst of public anger, excitement or fuss about something.
By lunchtime the whole street was talking about it. Mister Patel from the newsagent said it was a disgrace. Mrs Mensah next door said it was the best thing that had happened to Hartley Road in years. Two ladies with pushchairs argued about it outside the post office, and the lollipop man took photographs for his sister in Nairobi.
Otieno loved every minute of the furore. He sat on the front step after school with a notebook and wrote down every opinion he heard. He had fourteen by teatime.
On Tuesday a man from the council arrived with a clipboard. He said the pink paint was a mistake. The tins had been labelled wrongly at the depot. He would have it repainted black and white by Friday.
That caused an even bigger furore. Mrs Mensah started a petition. Mister Patel signed it, which surprised everybody, and said he had changed his mind because the pink made the street look cheerful. Even the lollipop man signed, twice.
By Thursday the council man came back with a different clipboard and a slightly tired face.
"The crossing stays pink," he announced.
Otieno wrote that down too, then closed his notebook. He had never known Hartley Road so excited about anything. His mum said it was the most interesting furore she could remember, and that the pink stripes looked rather lovely in the sun.
Word Definition
furore
meaning
a sudden outbreak of public anger, excitement or fuss
synonyms
uproar · outcry · commotion · hullabaloo · fuss
antonyms
calm · silence · indifference
example sentence
The decision to close the library caused a furore in the town.