Our vocabulary in the news."A fair amount happened before that Russian denouement" quote from article in New Yorker.

"Denouement by death" quote from NY Times

The Royal Wedding and Vocabulary
Harry did not have to stumble through “And thereto I plight thee my troth,” a phrase over which so many grooms have tripped.   Instead, he said, “In the presence of God, I make this vow.” (THE NEW YORKER)
As we know from Wordly Wise, the noun plight carries with it a reminder of love and marriage in centuries past.  Once it was a verb and meant" to promise; to pledge." When persons got engaged to be married, they"plighted their troth." This means they would dishonor themselves if they were not faithful and true to each other.  Troth is word that has disappeared entirely from the language.  Once it meant "loyalty; faithfulness; honor."