IMF Chairman Arrested for Sexual Assault by NYPD

[sbr]

As reported by a friend in France:

Just saw that the woman who accused Strauss-Kahn of raping her is known to have lied on her asylum application and to have links with money laundering and organised crime....ooops! Prosecution says it needs to talk to the judge asap. Given that this man is, or was, the main contender to run against Sarkozy, France is watching all this like a hawk. If it DOES turn out to be ill-founded, it will be quite a blot on the escutcheon of US justice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escutcheon

Escutcheon may refer to:

    * Escutcheon (heraldry), a shield or shield-shaped emblem, displaying a coat of arms
    * Escutcheon (furniture), an item of door furniture that surrounds a keyhole or lock cylinder
    * a decorative plate that surrounds a faucet in a bathtub or shower
    * (in medicine) the distribution of pubic hair
    * (in veterinary medicine) the shield-like pattern of distribution of the haircoat in the area below the vulva, down to the top of the udder, in the cow
    * a plate on the stern of a ship inscribed with the ship's name

I wonder which one they mean?

[MadImmortalMan]

As reported by a friend in France:

Just saw that the woman who accused Strauss-Kahn of raping her is known to have lied on her asylum application and to have links with money laundering and organised crime....ooops! Prosecution says it needs to talk to the judge asap. Given that this man is, or was, the main contender to run against Sarkozy, France is watching all this like a hawk. If it DOES turn out to be ill-founded, it will be quite a blot on the escutcheon of US justice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escutcheon

Escutcheon may refer to:

    * Escutcheon (heraldry), a shield or shield-shaped emblem, displaying a coat of arms
    * Escutcheon (furniture), an item of door furniture that surrounds a keyhole or lock cylinder
    * a decorative plate that surrounds a faucet in a bathtub or shower
    * (in medicine) the distribution of pubic hair
    * (in veterinary medicine) the shield-like pattern of distribution of the haircoat in the area below the vulva, down to the top of the udder, in the cow
    * a plate on the stern of a ship inscribed with the ship's name

I wonder which one they mean?

I like #4 the best, so I'm going with that.

[Razgovory]

I suppose the lesson here is not to use a word in the the Thesaurus unless you actually know what it means.

[citizen k]

I think it's #1, heraldry.

[grumbler]

I suppose the lesson here is not to use a word in the the Thesaurus unless you actually know what it means.

The phrase "blot on [one's] escutcheon" has a clear meaning. 
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/a+blot+on+%28one%27s%29+escutcheon
Idiom:
a blot on (one's) escutcheon
Dishonor to one's reputation.

I suppose the lesson here is that you shouldn't assume that it is the other person who is ignorant.

[Razgovory]

And I thought it had to do with pubic hair.