'take a new tact': possible double meaning

[Michael McKernan]

I believe this eggcorn has already been mentioned in Language Log, if not
here.  This instance, however, at least hints at  the possibility of a
double meaning.

 U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honore, quoted in New Orleans by the
Washington Post:

> "You can beat [the players] up and tell them how stupid and dumb they are
>and degrade them," he continues, or you can take a new tact, find new
>approaches and remember "there's still three quarters of the game left."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/emailafriend?contentId=AR2005091101484&
sent=no&referrer=emailarticle

It seems to me that changing from 'tell them how stupid and dumb they are
and degrade them' to another approach might qualify as introducing
previously missing 'tact' into this equation.  --I'm not saying that this
was likely to have been any part of the speaker's (or transcriber's?)
conscious thought process.


Michael McKernan