Besmirching is what happens when the truth puts on its good coat and someone spills soup on it. A rumor arrives wearing a borrowed badge, announcing that your neighbor waters plastic plants and once applauded a parking meter. The details are absurd. The confidence is not. So ask for evidence, offer the neighbor a cup of tea, and let the rumor explain itself in daylight. Most insults shrink when asked to stand beside the facts. And the plastic plants, for the record, are thriving.
