from "blood libel" to "pogrom"

[Tom Zurinskas]

Joel,

Sorry.  I've really never heard the term "blood libel" before.  Perhaps OED and Websters have not either.  It doesn't make sense as a word to me as well.

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
> Poster: "Joel S. Berson"
> Subject: Re: from "blood libel" to "pogrom"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 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
> > > Poster: Laurence Horn
> > > 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
> > wrote:
> > > >
> > > >> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > >> -----------------------
> > > >> Sender: American Dialect Society
> > > >> Poster: Laurence Horn
> > > >> 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
> > > >> > 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
> > > >>
> > > >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > > >>
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >--
> > > >"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle
> > the truth."
> > > >
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> > >
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> >
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>
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