shibboleth (was: America and American)

[Mark A Mandel]

On Tue, 19 Feb 2002, GSCole wrote:

#In recent years, as 'Made in America' has become something of a
#shibboleth, more than one car sales person has told me that a vehicle
#with a doorplate that indicates an origin in either Mexico or Canada is,
#in fact, made in America.

I wouldn't call that a shibboleth. A lie, maybe, or a stretch; but a
shibboleth is more like a password, a usage (in the original Biblical
story, a pronunciation) that demonstrates the user's in-group
membership.

-- Mark A. Mandel
   Linguist at Large