![Why Donald Trump’s Newest White House Hire Has Everybody Googling Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’](http://townsquare.media/site/295/files/2017/07/Anthony-Scaramucci-Freddie-Mercury-Chip-Somodevilla-Hulton-Archive.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Why Donald Trump’s Newest White House Hire Has Everybody Googling Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
Yesterday, President Donald Trump appointed hedge fund manager Anthony Scaramucci as the new White House director of communications. The similarity of his surname to the word "scaramouch" resulted in a massive spike in people trying to decipher the middle section of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody."
As USA Today reported, Merriam-Webster noticed that searches for a definition of "scaramouch" rose 8,185 percent in the aftermath of the White House announcing Scaramucci's hire. The dictionary defined the word as "a stock character in the Italian commedia dell'arte that burlesques the Spanish don and is characterized by boastfulness and cowardliness" and acknowledged that the scaramouch's role is to beaten by the Harlequin. They also acknowledged that the word has evolved to refer to “a cowardly buffoon” or “rascal.”
They continued with a nod to Queen's hit, saying, "Despite the energetic physical nature of the comedy of Harlequin and Scaramouch, there is no evidence that they performed the Spanish dance known as the fandango."
A few hours later, the dictionary's Twitter account tweeted, "We wish to apologize for feeding the 'Bohemian Rhapsody' earworm today. We offer this link as comfort and distraction," and linked to its own story about the etymology of "earworm."
But others weren't as conciliatory, as Twitter exploded with Queen references. We've embedded a handful of them below.
Coincidentally, "Bohemian Rhapsody" has been in the news recently for a different reason. It's expected that it will serve as the title for the long-awaited biopic about the life of Queen singer Freddie Mercury. It was recently announced that Bryan Singer, famous for the X-Men franchise, will direct and Rami Malek (Mr. Robot) will star in the lead role.
Queen Albums Ranked Worst to Best
More From 98.7 The Bomb
![Listen to Queen’s New ‘Face It Alone’ Featuring Freddie Mercury](http://townsquare.media/site/295/files/2022/10/attachment-QueenFaceItAlone.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Ivana Trump, Fashion Mogul and Donald Trump’s Ex-Wife, Dead at 73](http://townsquare.media/site/252/files/2022/07/attachment-ivana-trump.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Queen Are Most-Played Rock Band on Radio Around the World](http://townsquare.media/site/295/files/2022/01/attachment-merc.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Roger Taylor Defends ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Timeline Change](http://townsquare.media/site/295/files/2022/01/attachment-taylor.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Queen Guitarist Brian May Tests Positive for COVID-19](http://townsquare.media/site/366/files/2021/11/attachment-brian_may_itv_palooza_2021.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Brian May Apologizes for Gender Comments He Says Were Misrepresented](http://townsquare.media/site/366/files/2019/05/brian-may-queen-live-photo-by-ethan-miller.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Movie Allegedly $51 Million in the Red](http://townsquare.media/site/295/files/2017/08/Queen-Freddies-Vocals.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Queen’s Roger Taylor Jams With 11-Year-Old Viral Drumming Star](http://townsquare.media/site/295/files/2021/11/attachment-Taylor-Bushell.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Queen’s ‘The Show Must Go On’: Freddie Mercury’s Epic Final Bow](http://townsquare.media/site/295/files/2021/09/attachment-Queen-The-Show-Must-Go-On-single.jpg?w=980&q=75)