Monthly Archives: July 2009

Yeah, original headline there, eh?

Anyway, I am headed to Philly with my wife for a few days, so the blog will be on hiatus until next Tuesday or Wednesday. Be strong. I know you will all be just fine without me.

The Washington Post had an interesting article last week about a group of U.S. Mormons in Mexico who were being targeted in the drug war because some had tried to stand up to the drug gangs. They’ve also been victims of kidnapping. But one line in it bothered me, from a word-nerd perspective:

These Mormons, some who swear and drink beer, are the latest collateral damage in the Mexican government’s U.S.-backed war against criminal organizations.

These people aren’t collateral damage, which implies accidental harm caused to civilians in a war, like when a bomb misses its target and hits a school. From the American Heritage Dictionary: “Unintended damage, injuries, or deaths caused by an action, especially unintended civilian casualties caused by a military operation.”

The drug gangs are targeting these people and all the other civilians they torture, kidnap, and murder in Mexico. It’s no more collateral damage than it was when Vietnamese and Iraqi villagers were killed by angry U.S. soldiers, or when Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and beheaded by terrorists. Civilians have always been caught up in wars; it’s only in recent centuries that there have been “rules” about war and therefore a need for a phrase like collateral damage. But what’s happening in Mexico isn’t it. It’s murder.

Different newspapers have drastically different ideas about what is appropriate for publication. This goes double for headlines, which are the most visible and most-read part of the paper.

Here’s a good example from this morning’s papers. The headlines have the same idea and even some of the same words, but one key difference:

From the New York Times:

After Reports of a Liaison, Italy’s Leader Says, ‘I’m Not a Saint’

From The Guardian (an excellent British paper):

I’m no saint, Silvio Berlusconi admits in wake of sex tape allegations

The Guardian headline tells you a lot more than the coy New York Times, although in this case it is slightly misleading, since the tape in question is an audio recording, not video. Still, I’m in favor of giving the reader as much direct information as possible in a headline.

I would have gone with:

I’m no saint, Italy’s leader says after prostitution allegations

That’s the real gist of the allegations, which center on an audio tape that is said to be of Berlusconi talking with a prostitute in a hotel room.

Speaking of differences, another interesting thing from the stories is how the public and the accused politician react to reports of affairs compared with the U.S. Berlusconi’s supposed dalliances were first revealed when his wife (who says she’s divorcing him) wrote an open letter to newspapers about them. In the U.S., cheating political husbands usually have tearful news conferences with their wives at their sides. In Italy, it seems, they say things like:

• “I’m no saint, by now you’ve figured that out,” a smiling Berlusconi said.
• The 72-year-old leader also noted that “there are a lot of nice-looking girls around”.
• Berlusconi has denied paying for sex, and has called the allegations “trash”. (He denies that a man such as himself must pay for extramarital sex, you see.)

I was reading Stephen King’s 1975 vampire novel, ‘Salem’s Lot, a few weeks ago. At one point, a boy who is tied up is imagining his escape, even seeing a projection of himself on the wall:

He looked at the wall.

The figure there had begun to move cautiously, although he himself lay perfectly still. He watched all the movements of the simulacrum raptly.

I’d seen simulacrum before, and always had a vague idea of its meaning from context. But this was my “A-ha!” moment for the word. (I should have played “Take on Me.”)

Anyway, here’s the OED definitions and etymology.

• 1. A material image, made as a representation of some deity, person, or thing.
• 2a. Something having merely the form or appearance of a certain thing, without possessing its substance or proper qualities.
• 2b. A mere image, a specious imitation or likeness, of something.
• Etymology: Latin, from simulare, to make like, to simulate.

From a New York Times story about science fiction and fantasy author Jack Vance:

When I was 14 or so, in the late ’70s, I knew an Advanced Boy, a connoisseur of all that was cooler than whatever his classmates were listening to, smoking or reading. I was impressed with myself for having graduated from Tolkien to E. R. Eddison and Michael Moorcock. “Kid stuff,” said the Advanced Boy. “Try this.” He handed me a paperback copy of Vance’s “Eyes of the Overworld.” On the cover a giant lizardlike creature was tipping over a rowboat containing a man in regulation swords-and-sorcery attire and a buxom woman in regulation dishabille.

Merriam-Webster Online gives these definitions for dishabille:

• 1a. archaic : negligee
• 1b. the state of being dressed in a casual or careless style
• 2. a deliberately careless or casual manner

The American Heritage Dictionary has a slightly different take on 1b: “The state of being partially or very casually dressed.”

I thought “regulation dishabille” was a clever turn of phrase. I got it right away without looking it up, having consumed plenty of sci-fi and fantasy with covers like this.

A negligee is defined as:

• 1. a woman’s long flowing usually sheer dressing gown
• 2. carelessly informal or incomplete attire

Both dishabille and negligee have French origins:

• dishabille: French déshabillé, from past participle of déshabiller to undress, from dés- dis- + habiller to dress. The word dates to 1673.
• negligee: French négligé, from past participle of négliger to neglect, from Latin neglegere. It dates to 1756.

I just did a little maintenance on my list of interesting blogs on the right side of the page. I’ve changed each to an RSS feed so the most recent post is shown. Also, I cleaned out a few blogs that have gone dead and others whose Web addresses have changed. Enjoy!