Regime Change

[Jonathan Lighter]

Am not sure that a line between "literal" and "euphemistic" _regime change_ can be established empirically.

  Even if Official X says, "We are for regime change" while thinking, "Off the @3$5^&*!" one assumes that a fortuitous change resulting from some legitimate cause would be equally acceptable.

  JL

Jesse Sheidlower <jester at PANIX.COM> wrote:
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Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Jesse Sheidlower
Subject: Re: Regime Change
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On Thu, May 17, 2007 at 05:54:32PM -0400, Baker, John wrote:
> The OED has 1990 for the euphemistic use of "regime change."
> (The non-euphemistic use goes back to 1925.) Here's earlier, from the
> Houston Chronicle (via Westlaw), 2/20/1987: "In mid-August last year,
> the president signed a National Security Decision Directive (NSDD)
> stating that he still sought a "regime change" in Libya, and directed
> the CIA to conduct a campaign of "disinformation" to make Gadhafi think
> that he was about to be attacked again by the United States or ousted by
> his closest aides."

The OED already has this quote, though from the same day in the
Washington Post. (I assume the HC got it from the post, or it's
a wire story.) I believe it will appear in the next update. I
assume someone on ADS-L pointed this out, but I'm too lazy to check.

Jesse Sheidlower
OED

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