Proliferate (verb)
Definition: to increase in number or amount quickly
Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proliferation
Found in: Scenes From the Smith Family Christmas By Zadie Smith
Quote: “Denzil found this out when he attempted, on this most sacred of days, to do the things we could not do because we’d always done them another way, our way — a way we all hated, to be sure, but could not change. Denzil wants to open a present on Christmas Eve — don’t do that, Denzil. Denzil wants to go for a walk — I’m so sorry, Denzil, that’s impossible. We’d like to, but we just can’t swing it. Why not? Because, Denzil. Just because. Because like the two parts of Ireland, because like the Holy Trinity, because like nuclear proliferation, like men not wearing skirts, because like brandy butter.”
The word nuclear proliferation in this text technically means the spread of nuclear weapons, but the author is using it as an example of things that aren’t changing, just like the way Christmas presents are opened in their family.
