from "blood libel" to "pogrom"

[Joel S. Berson]

Tom, if you are really unaware of the meaning of "blood libel" and
its historical (and still current) association with persecution and
slander of Jews, I am astonished.  And also that you do not simply go
to the Wikipedia article.

(As someone wrote here earlier, the omission of this term from the
OED -- not even in any quotation! -- is inexcusable.  I notice that
it's also absent from my Webster's New World Dictionary of 1991.)

Joel

At 1/15/2011 04:41 PM, Tom Zurinskas wrote:
>"Blood libel" is a new term to me in all my years.  What has one
>word have to do with the other?
>
>Tom Zurinskas, from Conn 20 yrs, then Tenn 3, NJ 33, now FL 8.
>Free English-based phonetic converter, URL and text , at truespel.com
>
>
>
>
> >
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> > Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster: Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> > Subject: Re: from "blood libel" to "pogrom"
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > At 11:42 PM -0500 1/14/11, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> > >Now, now. There you go again! Was the "war" on poverty really a war? Of
> > >course not! When America's young people say the latest musical
> bebop number
> > >or something is "killer!" do they mean it really kills? No again!
> > >
> > >So obviously any mean criticism of a political position is just as much a
> > >"blood libel" or a "pogrom" or "genocide" (good one!) as anything else.
> >
> > i.e. "A pundit's reach must exceed his (or her) grasp, or what's
> a metaphor?"?
> >
> > LH
> >
> > >
> > >As St. Humpty might have said to Alice: "Prove me wrong, O ye
> > >prescriptivists!"
> > >
> > >JL
> > >
> > >On Fri, Jan 14, 2011 at 10:02 PM, Laurence Horn
> <laurence.horn at yale.edu>wrote:
> > >
> > >> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > >> -----------------------
> > >> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > >> Poster: Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> > >> Subject: Re: from "blood libel" to "pogrom"
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>----------------------------------------------------------------
> ---------------
> > >>
> > >> At 9:51 PM -0500 1/14/11, Wilson Gray wrote:
> > >> >On Fri, Jan 14, 2011 at 5:43 PM, Victor Steinbok
> > >> ><aardvark66 at gmail.com> quoted:
> > >> >
> > >> >> pogrom
> > >> >
> > >> >Clearly, this person has not the least idea of what a "pogrom" is - or
> > >> >should that be, ... of what is a "pogrom"?. Well, that's not very
> > >> >surprising, given that the one-volume edition of the Bol'shoi
> > >> >russko-angliiskii slovar' / Comprehensive Russian-English Dictionary
> > >> >gives the the meaning of _pogrom_ as "pogrom." I.e., there is really
> > >> >no way of translating the horror contained in those two syllables into
> > >> >English.
> > >> >
> > >> >Of course, from now on, every time that some right-winger has his
> > >> >feelings hurt, it'll be described as the consequence of a "pogrom."
> > >> >
> > >> >It's almost enough to make you appreciate why The One True Faith
> > >> >labored to keep the Bible out of the hands of the polloi for a
> > >> >millennium and a half. That is to say, a person really ought to have
> > >> >some idea of what a "pogrom" is before using the word to describe a
> > >> >triviality. The writer would, no doubt, use "beheading" to describe a
> > >> >cutting remark. :-(
> > >> >
> > >> If GWB and Obama can variously be seen as the new Hitler (by
> > >> different seers, to be sure), then this isn't too surprising, given
> > >> the usual semantic bleaching effects, although it is discouraging.
> > >> Who was it who used to complain about "defining deviancy down"? So
> > >> now it's "blood libel" and "pogrom" being defined down. :-( indeed.
> > >>
> > >> LH
> > >>
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> > >>
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >--
> > >"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle
> the truth."
> > >
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