the Machine (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Ben Zimmer]

On Thu, Dec 9, 2010 at 11:10 AM, Paul Frank wrote:
>
> On Thu, Dec 9, 2010 at 4:51 PM, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC wrote:
>>
>>> One of the senses of the word "machine" in the OED is this: "10. orig.
>>> U.S. Â [Compare sense 6b.] The controlling organization of a political
>>> party or similar body; any organization or group displaying impressive
>>> or ruthless efficiency." But I don't think that's quite what The
>>> Machine means here (see below). Or is it?
>>>
>>> WikiLeaks vs The Machine
>>> US government tells firms to pull plug on whistleblowing website as
>>> hackers cause chaos with revenge attacks on Assange's 'enemies'
>>>
>> <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/wikileaks-vs-the-machine-2155031.html>
>>
>> Isn't the first sense in OED appropriate here? Â See particularly the
>> 1829 quote.
>
> Not really in my opinion:
>
> a. A material or immaterial structure, esp. the fabric of the world or
> of the universe; a construction or edifice. Now rare.
> 1829    R. Hall Wks. (1832) VI. 457   The mind casts its eye over the
> whole machine of society.
>
> I think that here the Machine means, as pointed out earlier, the
> Establishment. The cabal that pulls the strings.

Much like the band name, Rage Against the Machine? (But not,
presumably, like the band name Florence and the Machine.)

--bgz

--
Ben Zimmer
http://benzimmer.com/

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