to shadow (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Jonathan Lighter]

Our posts crossed.

"In keeping," yes. But different.

JL

On Thu, Feb 24, 2011 at 5:33 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: to shadow (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Could be. Time will tell.
>
> It seems, however, to be a specifically journalistic usage, like "cover" or
> "follow" (get it? "follow"/"shadow"; "cover"/"shadow").
>
> By "on-the spot-coverage," I meant to imply that he was gathering news in
> person, which I take to be essential to the meaning. But I don't want to
> imply that he was *broadcasting* in (what's that they call it now?) "real
> time," something the phrase "on-the-spot" might suggest.
>
> JL
>  On Thu, Feb 24, 2011 at 4:59 PM, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC <
> Bill.Mullins at us.army.mil> wrote:
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> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       "Mullins, Bill AMRDEC" <Bill.Mullins at US.ARMY.MIL>
> > Subject:      Re: to shadow (UNCLASSIFIED)
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> > Caveats: NONE
> >
> > Rather than the definition you give, I'd interpret "shadow" as "stick
> > close to for a length of time".
> >
> >
> >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
> > Behalf Of
> > > Jonathan Lighter
> > > Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2011 3:56 PM
> > > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > > Subject: to shadow
> > >
> > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > ----------------------
> > > -
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > > Subject:      to shadow
> > >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > ------
> > > -
> > >
> > > "To provide continuing on-the-scene news coverage of":
> > >
> > > 2010 Dexter Filkins in _N.Y. Times_  (May 14) [online version]:
> > Sebastian
> > > Junger...spent months shadowing an American infantry platoon deployed
> > in the
> > > valley.
> > >
> > > Now to all normal humans, this suggests that Junger was probably
> > working for
> > > the Taliban, but in fact no. Everybody knew he was there (duh!) as an
> > > American war correspondent. He wasn't tailing them stealthily, as
> > Filkins
> > > (b. 1961, Pulitzer Prize 2002) suggests to those of us of a certain
> > age.
> > > Junger was so "close to the action" that he was riding in an APC with
> > > members of the platoon when it was rocked by a command-detonated IED.
> > >
> > > Not what my geriatrifying brain would call "shadowing" the platoon.
> > >
> > > I'm also sure I've heard this usage before on TV news, undoubtedly
> > within
> > > the past couple of years.
> > >
> > > JL
> > > --
> > > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> > truth."
> > >
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> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
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