battleship

[Jonathan Lighter]

CNN describes the two US Navy vessels ordered into the Mediterranean Sea as
"battleships."

What CNN means is "warships."

USS Kearsarge is an "amphibious assault ship" and USS Ponce [no cracks, you
Brits] is an "amphibious transport dock."

Of course, this error is widespread in the general population, but not
widespread enough for OED.  To call all warships  "battleships" is like
calling all words "adjectives."  Or all narrative books "novels."

JL


--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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