soldier = sailor

[Jonathan Lighter]

My impression is that "attack submarine" is a 1950s retronym coined to
distinguish the traditional anti-ship submarine from the "strategic missile
submarine."  You know, the kind that can effectively wipe out a very large
nation all by itself.

Remember: "Strategic missile submarines don't kill people. People kill
people."

JL



On Thu, Feb 4, 2010 at 1:54 PM, Bill Palmer <w_a_palmer at bellsouth.net>wrote:

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> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Bill Palmer <w_a_palmer at BELLSOUTH.NET>
> Subject:      Re: soldier = sailor
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I wouldn't object to sailors or Marines being referred to as "warriors",
> any
> more than I'd have a problem with football players being called "athletes".
>
> But I would not agree that football players can be called "golfers", for
> instance.
>
> The basic fighting unit of an army is the "soldier", and the basic fighting
> unit of the Navy is (traditionally) the ship, manned by sailors.
>
>
> Bill Palmer
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jonathan Lighter" <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Sent: Thursday, February 04, 2010 11:37 AM
> Subject: soldier = sailor
>
>
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> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
>  > Subject:      soldier = sailor
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Weve already discussed whether or when marines are ever soldiers.  But
> the
> > following ex., obviously written by someone with professional-level
> > skills, shows that "soldier" now subsumes sailors too, at least for some
> > people:
> >
> >
> > 2007 _Moviefone_ [
> > http://insidemovies.moviefone.com/2007/03/07/feature-page-5-1-films/]:
> > German director Wolfgang Petersen's U-boat drama realistically captures
> > the
> > claustrophobia and uncertainty of a fighter sub and portrays the German
> > soldiers as real people, not Aryan monsters.
> >
> >
> > Perhaps, as skeptics will chuckle, this is merely a slip. Maybe. But if
> > so,
> > it is a bizarre slip IMO. The writer obviously knows what the movie is
> > about.
> >
> > Consider too the peculiar phrase "fighter sub." That supports the idea
> > that
> > the writer is not very familiar with even everyday military/naval usage,
> > at
> > least as little boys grew up learning it in the '50s.  I've heard Fox
> News
> > refer to all combat aircraft as "fighter planes."
> >
> > (If you don't understand my point, you may be proving it.)
> >
> > The explanation (if one is needed) may be that over the past couple of
> > decades, all members of the armed forces have come to be described in
> > journalism as "warriors" generally. (There are several reasons for this.)
> > But if "warrior" can subsume "sailor," why can't "soldier"?
> >
> > Inglish. Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.
> >
> > JL
> >
> > --
> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> > truth."
> >
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