mysterious; elusive; shadowy = 'declining to sit for on-air interviews'

Jonathan Lighter wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM
Tue Apr 30 12:42:41 UTC 2013


Think I'm kidding? Just in the past three minutes CNN has used these words
(again)  to describe the "man named 'Misha'" who knew the Tsaraev brothers
and was mentioned by their uncle as a possible Islamist influence.

Last week a moron speculated that it was odd for a man to be named "Misha,"
because that's a "female name."

But Misha (short for "Mikhail") has been identified, found, visited, and
interviewed by the New York Review of Books as well as the FBI. He even has
a surname. He denies "brainwashing" (another popular word) the brothers
through use of his alleged mesmerizing powers or any other method for that
matter. His lawyer has appeared on the air to emphasize this and say that
he's cooperating fully with authorities.

Mysterious? Elusive? Shadowy?

In Inglish they mean "declining to sit for on-air interviews."

(In this case, I'd adopt British usage and refer to "the man *called*
'Misha'," if you see what I'm saying.)

JL

--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



More information about the Ads-l mailing list