Writ large

"The specter of jihadist violence has led to some politicians in the West placing a blanket veil of suspicion over refugees, migrants and Muslims writ large. "

What is "writ large" doing here?

I think the author intends to say "refugees, migrants and Muslims in general," though I'm not sure if he means to talk about "Muslims in general," or all three groups named.

But that is not the definition of "writ large." I'm guessing this is just sloppy writing.

'Writ large' means 'clearly and obviously' or 'in an exaggerated manner'. As Minnesota Guy has indicated, it doesn't seem to be used in the usual manner. I think here, the meaning might be that there is a very high level of suspicion among politicians in the West.

If you write "These people are suspicious" in large letters, as a sign applying to them, what do you think it means?

bennymix said:

If you write "These people are suspicious" in large letters, as a sign applying to them, what do you think it means?

But in this case, shouldn't it be written as "... placing a blanket veil of suspicion writ large over refugees, migrants and Muslims." ??

I just browsed the usage of this phrase on the internet and one site said it should be used as an apposition to a noun. (I'm not sure how frequently that guideline is followed -- even that very site showed some usage examples that did NOT follow their own guideline, so I better don't even post that link).

For me it's unclear if the author wanted to apply 'writ large' to the complete noun phrase or only to the noun 'Muslims'. In the latter case I'd conclude that this veil of suspicion is placed over all three groups of people but with particular emphasis on Muslims.

manfy said:

one site said it should be used as an apposition to a noun.[...]

Hello Manfy,

If the site really said this, I think you are right to pay it little attention, because I don't see how an adjectival phrase (writ large) can be in apposition to a noun.

Maybe they were trying to say that writ large usually follows the noun it refers to. But it doesn't have to at all. Here is an example from the British Corpus where it doesn't:

Here, truly, one can see writ large the truth of the Canal Commission's simple motto —‘the Land divided, the World united’— or applaud the brief laureateship of the poet Stafford who wrote, to celebrate the Canal's opening day in 1914 etc. The Pacific. Simon Winchester, London: Arrow Books Ltd, 1992.

Sometimes the phrase is used simply to mean 'written in large letters', as here, in another example from the British Corpus:

Wick, where the biggest shop is Woolworths and the young girls pass reeking of cigarette smoke, and CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS is writ large on the exterior of the Harbour Mission wall. Highland journey. Mairi Hedderwick, Edinburgh: Canongate Press plc, 1992.

I'm not sure that this use in the article in the Washington Post quoted in the OP is all that unusual. It is suggesting that Donald Trump was giving these three words, REFUGEES, MIGRANTS, and MUSLIMS, warning status - a flashing warning to indicate that the three categories of people should not be allowed to enter the United States.

I'd like to discuss the second meaning of "writ large", if you call 'obvious and clear' is the first.

"How this game is played is little more than our own society writ large."

In this sentence, does it mean: This game allows you to look into every nook and cranny of our society now that it's written larger.

What I'm confused about "large" is to which does the quality of being large contribute: little details that you haven't been able to see or certain features that are now emphasized by being larger?

It means that the game is an exaggerated version of our society.

nagomi said:

I'd like to discuss the second meaning of "writ large", if you call 'obvious and clear' is the first.

"How this game is played is little more than our own society writ large."

In this sentence, does it mean: This game allows you to look into every nook and cranny of our society now that it's written larger.

What I'm confused about "large" is to which does the quality of being large contribute: little details that you haven't been able to see or certain features that are now emphasized by being larger?

nagomi said:

I'd like to discuss the second meaning of "writ large", if you call 'obvious and clear' is the first.

"How this game is played is little more than our own society writ large."

In this sentence, does it mean: This game allows you to look into every nook and cranny of our society now that it's written larger.

What I'm confused about "large" is to which does the quality of being large contribute: little details that you haven't been able to see or certain features that are now emphasized by being larger?

I don't think that's quite it. You're talking about taking a microscope to something. Rather the idea is that crucial features are highlighted. It's the difference between saying/writing "John is a criminal" and "John is a CRIMINAL."

By extension. Suppose there is a published list of illegal funds received by politician John. I say, "We see in this list, John's corruption writ large." It super salient, clear and unambigous.