Read the passage from “First Joint Debate Ottawa,” a speech by Abraham Lincoln.My Fellow-Citizens: When a man hears himself somewhat misrepresented, it provokes him,—at least, I find it so with myself; but when misrepresentation becomes very gross and palpable, it is more apt to amuse him. What is the closest meaning of the underlined phrase as it used in the excerpt?
Here, “gross and palpable” describes a misrepresentation that is blatant and easy to recognize. Lincoln says such an obvious distortion is more likely to amuse him than provoke him, so “obviously exaggerated” is the closest choice.
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