Resign or Re-sign? What a Difference a Hyphen Makes

Wednesday’s Words, because words matter.

With calls for President Biden to abandon his candidacy for reelection, I’ve given some thought to the word resign.

And I suspect, if you asked President Biden, though he may not have given it the same attention I do here, he’s reached the same conclusion. Is the word we need to focus on really ‘resign’ or is it ‘re-sign’?

The definition of resign is to give up, to relinquish a job, or to capitulate – to give up and give in.

Adding a hyphen though – from resign to re-sign – and everything changes. From abandonment to rededication. To sign up again, not to retreat but to advance. It’s more than a shift in meaning, it’s a shift in mindset and approach.

It’s interesting how this all came front and center: a single debate performance, one bad moment – 90 minutes of less than perfection. And then the talking heads took over, reading from scripts about a man who speaks extemporaneously to the nation he leads. It became headline news; they published opinion pieces, fomented questions about one candidate – the one who builds things and makes progress – while ignoring the other who tears things down.