Linguists have determined once and for all Trump is saying 'big league' — not 'bigly'

One of the biggest mysteries of the 2016 election has finally been solved. That word Donald Trump has repeatedly used on the campaign trail that starts with "big" and ends somewhat imperceptibly is "big league" — not "bigly," as some of us might have heard.
The New York Times got linguists to conduct a voice analysis and end the debate over what Trump is actually saying once and for all. Turns out, "big league" has been a favorite phrase of Trump's since the '90s. He's used it on an episode of The Apprentice, on a television interview with CNN's Larry King, and in an appearance with NBC's Meet the Press.
But, linguists found, there's good reason for the confusion over whether Trump has been saying "bigly" or "big league." The New York Times reported "big league" is typically used as an "adjective or figurative noun," but Trump has been using it as an adverb. "It's some combination of a lot of people not knowing the phrase 'big league' then also the fact that it's an unusual place to use that phrase in a sentence," said Susan Lin, a professor of linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley. "So people are parsing it as an adverb, which would be 'bigly.'"
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Head over to The New York Times to read more on what linguists uncovered about Trump's vocabulary.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants