Censure or censor?

[Laurence Horn]

At 8:38 PM -0400 9/1/08, Joel S. Berson wrote:
>In her (?) generally negative review

in the Times, if anyone needs to know

>of Steven Bochco's "new drama of
>judicial tantrum throwing and tousled hair," Raising the Bar," Ginia
>Bellafante writes "But some [beers] are consumed in the shower,
>because this is the kind of show in which three words generally
>relevant to any treatment of the legal profession---"conflict of
>interest"---appear to have been censured."
>
>(In a family newspaper, Ms. Ballatante is not explicit, but I surmise
>conflict of interest looms because the assistant district attorneys
>and the public defenders are taking the showers together.)

Darn.  Now I'll have to watch it.

>
>Did Ms. Ballafante misuse "censure" for "censor" here?

I'm sure she did, if indeed she (or her editor) knows the difference.
But given the kind of education and proofreading writers get these
days, she's more to be pitied than censured.

LH

>In my
>experience, actions may be censured, but words are censored.  But I
>do note "censure, v.  {dag}6. trans. To exercise censorship over.
>Obs. rare. (Cf. CENSURE n. 5.)", with a single citation from 1605;
>and "censure, n. 5. [is] Censorship; the office or action of a
>censor.    a. Of the ancient Roman censors (= L. censura)"
>
>An eggcorn?
>
>Joel
>
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